Reply To: Meeting the girl your son is dating

I agree that the time to meet your child’s prospective mate is during the dating period.
We met our children’s mates after the 2nd date and before the 4th. In all cases it was not a formal meeting of Mrs. CTL and I and the you young people in out living room…too stiff and uncomfortable for all involved.
We arranged for couple to attend a Sunday late afternoon BBQ or meal at our home that included other relatives and friends of the couple. In fact, to make it more comfortable we had our child ask the date to bring a few friends as possibles for our other children or invitees. We watched the social interaction of the young people as a whole and had limited but satisfying interaction with the target bride/groom.
This worked well for 4 of 5 children.
The other son in law was the child of friends and we had watched him grow up and didn’t require such a meeting.