Now that both of my sons are at a dating age, I feel that I have to fulfill my fatherly duty and dispense some dating advice. While I don’t claim to be an expert on this field, I can confidently say that I have exprienced enough to give good solid tips.

It’s safe to say that my BJ and Benito are pretty fortunate to have a dating mentor like me. When I was going through the same thing, I didn’t have anyone. My dad and I didn’t talk about stuff like this. So I told myself that if I ever had a son, I will do him the best favor in the world and make his life easier by giving him the best dating advice a man can ever have.

Please remember that the following advice is only for my sons. It is not intended for anybody’s sons. I will not be hold accountable for any face slapped, slammed phone, and or any bodily harm that might arise from the implementation of the suggestions below.

So, BJ make sure you take this list to heart and Benito you can also read it and get a head start. Let’s hope that when CJ gets older we would have perfected this dating thing and we can pass on our great knowledge to him.

Let’s start with the most important one “The First Kiss”. Always go for the kiss on the first date. If the girl likes you, she will kiss back. If she doesn’t, she will pull back. If she is nice but don’t like you, she will kiss you on the cheek. This is the best way to know whether you should spend your time courting the young lady or to move on.

How do you ask a girl on a date? There’s a very simple answer to do this. Just do it! I know that you are the shy type but you will never get what you want unless you ask. If you don’t want to ask directly, ask indirectly. Send one of your younger siblings to ask for you and make sure that they have a rose or a teddy bear with them–girls like this kinda stuff. It’s cute. Better yet, you can have Joanna write a poem for her but make sure the poem is not too strong like “you are my sun, my rain” stuff. This way you won’t scare her off.

During the date: Plan everything. Don’t ask her what she feels like doing. Be in control and organize the date. Be a gentleman, this means open every single door that she goes through, this includes the car door. Pay for the dinner, don’t go dutch. And most importantly, don’t go to a movie on a first date. You cannot show how great of a guy you are if you spend most of the night staring at the big screen. Take her to a movie when she is already your girlfriend. And for God’s sake don’t start talking about World of Warcraft. Let her do the talking. Ask and listen. Trust me, this works.

What about the flowers? This is a must. You have to give her flowers on your first date. Make sure the flowers are from the flower shop and not from Jewel or Aldi. This is not the time to go cheap on flowers. You can go cheap later when you are married and have children.

What about her parents? Please make sure that you arrange to pick her up at her house and while you are there, introduce yourself to her parents. Be respectful and humble. Do not come into their house unless you are told to come in and only sit down when you are told to do so. This will impress her parents and they will think that your mother and I have actually raised you properly. In addition, make sure you bring her back at the right time. There’s no sense in getting her in trouble on your first date.

Should you be a friend or a boyfriend? From the very beginning, your intentions should already be clear. If you want her to be your girlfriend then say so. If she says she only likes you as a friend, then accept it and move on. Do not and I mean do not be her best friend. You can be her friend but don’t be the guy who listens to all her guy problems and hope that she will realize that you are the best guy for her because she never will. Son, these things only happen in the movies and never in real life.

When do you move on? You end your courtship with her when she shows no interest in you. If she likes you, she will show it even if she is playing hard to get. This means that she will entertain your calls or spend sometime with you even if she hasn’t committed to you yet. But, when the time is right, you have to ask for her a commitment. If she cannot give it to you, then it’s time to move on and heal your wounds.

Since I started with the most important advice, I will also end with another important advice. NO means NO. And remember to always treat her the way you want other guys to treat your sisters.

If by chance you cannot remember any of these things, just remember how Daddy treats Mama and you will be just fine.

To show than I am not neglecting my girls, on my next post, I will post A Father’s Dating Advice To His Daughters.