This Is Not at All What We Thought Middle Schoolers Would Say About Dating

Ahh, middle school — the most awkward three years of any human person's life. Bodies are changing, personalities are developing, and feelings are, well, happening. Parents, if you have a middle schooler, you might be starting to worry about your child wanting to explore the feelings their newfound hormones are encouraging — but fear not, there's still hope that they'll hold out until they're a little older.

In this video, a group of middle schoolers are asked, "What is dating like?" — and their answers may surprise you. While some of the kiddos offered up their favorite date spots — Starbucks, Chipotle, and CVS (because of the cheap candy) — most of them admitted that they're not ready to focus on dating because they're busy going to school, thinking about sports, or preparing for their Bar Mitzvah. "I don't know . . . just that kind of pressure, I don't really need that right now in my life."

Though a few of them admit to "liking" someone in their class, their ideas of dating — texting, holding hands, going to each others' lockers — are still innocent, and none of them seem to really want to deal with any more than that for the time being. One perceptive young boy said, "We're in middle school, so relationships may not even carry on that long," and another child commented, "That's why I just stopped trying to like boys and get a boyfriend, because it's like, what is it at this age? You can't do anything — I mean, you can, but you shouldn't."

Cue audible sighs of relief from middle-school parents all over the world.