Parent refuses to let 16-year-old daughter's boyfriend get her a promise ring: 'I was stunned but ultimately I told him no...16 is too young'

These 16-year-olds who are dating are already talking about a ring, much to the surprise of the teens' parents!

At just 16 years old, these teens are in their first serious relationship. They come from different family backgrounds, but when you go to school with someone, those things don't seem to matter as much. You build a friend group together, have a few classes together (or a shared lunch period if you're lucky!), and try to hang out after school, too. You might envision a whole future with that person! But at such a young age, that just might not be realistic.

Some people stay with their high school sweethearts forever. They get married, have a bunch of kids, and never leave their hometowns. That seems to work out well for a lot of people, honestly. But another large segment of that high school's graduating class is going to go off to different colleges across the US. No matter how much you promise to keep in touch with your friends and that boyfriend or girlfriend, college changes everything.

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Teen couple sit together and smile at each other.
_{The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.}
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At 16, these kids are probably not thinking about college just yet, but the boyfriend is thinking about giving his lady a promise ring. This parent's alarm bells started going off in their head after the BF approached them with the idea!
A promise ring means different things to different people. This kid seems to be effectively asking the daughter to marry him. However, alongside the parent's big reaction, the girlfriend literally doesn't want that ring. She's indicated that she knows there's a big world full of people out there once adulthood hits, and teenage relationships just might not be that serious. Just the fact that his GF rejected the ring should be enough to put this entire question to bed, but that doesn't seem to have dissuaded the boyfriend from bugging his GF and her family about it. Take the hint, pal!
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People had a wide variety of views on this. Some, like this person, thought the parent wasn't over reacting

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Other people told this parent that this wasn't their business

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If your kid is still a child, though, it kind of is their business. The BF asked the parent this question! Clearly, the parents are involved at least to some degree.
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Other people wondered if they were judging the BF too harshly

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Just because teen boys are obnoxious at times, doesn't mean they're all bad dudes.
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Teen girl holds up promise ring.
_{The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.}