Thank you for asking this question.  Your question is every parent’s concern, because teens at this age are under intense pressure from their peers to be dating, in a love relationship, be experienced in sex, to smoke stuff, and to drink alcohol, just to fit in today's category of “cool”.

I would have loved to ask you some questions before attempting to give you my thoughts.  The truth is, at 17, a teenager has already heard many stories from their peers at school, and also learned a lot from the magazines, radio and TV programs, to the extent that s/he may feel that they know it all.  But, you do not know the quality of the knowledge she knows, and what she does not know.  Therefore, I commend you for taking this serious interest to keep her ahead of the game with the answers to these and hundreds of other dating questions.

However, don’t forget that, by talking only about the dangers of falling in love with the wrong person, a teenager will think that the parent is only being protective, considering that she first learned how to date from other people and not you.  I have heard many teens debating that if being in a love relationship was really risky as parents say, more people would not be dating or falling in love.  That is why many teenagers do not listen that well when it comes to parental advice on this topic.

Martha, I’d suggest that rather than tell her what she should do/not do, I would suggest that you take the Dale Carnegie approach of slowly trying to influence her to adopt your approach as her own.  If you e-mail me your mailing address, I will send you a complimentary copy of the Dating Solution.  This includes the best educational tools you can use in enlightening and empowering your daughter to take the guesswork out of this decision-making process.  You will shorten her learning curve, and save her from wasting time loving and/or marrying the wrong person.  Most important, you will learn how it is all predictable, and the existence of a clear path that leads to a successful and lasting love relationship.   

There is too much life-enriching knowledge I would love to share with you.  I have sent you a private e-mail, detailing the questions I would like you to answer for me, and then I will send you my detailed step-by-step suggestions to guide her and also put your mind at ease.

Thank you for this winner's question.

Alex, the Family Love Teacher,
More dating info is at, http://www.skillfuldating.com 
For seminars or consultations, email Alex: alex@alexmugume.com

P.S. This life-shaping knowledge is not taught in school, and therefore it is smart to learn it and teach it to the teenagers, to help them to make the right decisions the first time. 

Later on, I wrote for this Teen Dating article for the Modern Parent:

It’s no secret that teenagers are under intense peer pressure to be dating or in a love relationship. Unfortunately, many have not been well guided, and some are already heartbroken, been pressured into sex, and stuck in abusive relationships. The results indicate that there is an increase in teen pregnancies, teen abortions, STD infection rates, teens running away from home, increase in alcohol and drug abuse, and the jealous teens that put up serious gun fights rather than lose a date.

Every parent knows that dating is an important first step in shaping one’s quality of life, but because of an old tradition, they will hesitate or never teach their children about dating and love relationships. Parents would rather do everything else for their teen sons and daughters but not talk about dating. It is hard to believe. Teen dating is not going to stop. So, rather than shy away from this topic to talk only about their books and talents, it may be better for parents to open up and teach their teens how to make the right dating decisions.

No matter what your opinion is, times have changed and so must we. After all, we know much more about dating than the teens, so why shouldn’t we teach them what we know? Why should we simply wait for the teens to figure out these complex dating puzzles and conflicting opinions? Why don’t we (as a society, one family at a time) abandon this outdated tradition, and help these teens understand the truth, the myths, and the hidden risks involved in the process of dating? Isn’t it better parenting to prepare and empower them to avoid the pitfalls in dating, rather than wait for them to fall in trouble?

In the face of these dating challenges, I have been studying and documenting all the essential answers you’ve always wanted to know about dating and matching. He says it is now easier than ever before, and he is appealing to every parent to teach their teenagers how to use the “10-Step Smart Lover’s Model”, and the “Smart Lover’s Exit Strategy Flow Chart” to enable them make the right dating decisions the first time, and to avoid these costly dating mistakes. .