I'm going to say something I've wanted to say about tv shows for a long time. Kids start dating too young! Vanessa and Rudy both got their first boyfriend at 12 (Robert and Stanley). If we had seen the other kids at that age, I bet it would have been the same for them. It's so common on tv for 12 and 13 year olds to be going steady with the opposite sex and it influences kids waching to do the same. I wish more shows would show kids not starting until 15 (like 8 Simple Rules for Dating my Daughter). Kids start young on tv and parents allow it. I can picture a lot of people responding to this post telling me I'm nuts. Then again maybe some people besides child psychologists and sensible parents may agree with me.

I agree with you. Although it wasn't as serious as Rudy and Vanessa having sex with their boyfriend, I don't think they should've have been dating that age.

Cliff and Clair don't remind me of the kind of parents that would let their kids have steady boyfriends so young. Clair wouldn't let Vanessa wear make-up at age 13, yet she could have a boyfriend at age 12? I find that highly strange. I guess Clair figured dating was more innocent than wearing make-up.

I think 12 or 13 is too young to have boyfriends too. Funny thing is, all my friends and I had them. We were real good kids though. It was all innocent. But looking back, I think it was silly. I'm surprised Clair and Cliff didn't think it was silly too.

That's true, 12 and 13 is very young for kids to be dating, but on the show it wasn't as serious as dating is when older i think. I just think the dating consisted of going out to the movies or the mall, or just studying together. And if you think about it, they never went upstairs so nothing serious could really happen between them. But the promotion of the young age dating definitely could have waited though.

I found the Rudy and Kenny relationship very annoying especially with the type of dialogue they gave her especially with her and Kenny, "You have to earn my love." Hello what does a child know about that.

That's true, but maybe Rudy got it from her siblings(excluding Vanessa) and her parents, Kenny learned about that stuff from his brother.

Lol @ Kenny's brother. I think that was a funny thing how they made Kenny always come in and give stupid quotes from his brother.

Yeah, that's true, I always wanted to see him actually on the show just to visualize him as a character, but then i figured it was even better that we just heard his thoughts through Kenny and not actually though him,that made it even more funnier, though they were chauvinistic.

Oh yes. Dating at 12 is too young. I also keep being astounded by how easy characters from TV shows get new people to date after they break up with or just stop seeing someone.

how young were they when they started dating