Speed dating for under 8s

With everything turning all Valentine, many of us are planning our dates nights, but a family cafe and play centre in London, called Tea Dance for Little People (TDLP) have taken it a step further. Described as somewhere you can 'Enjoy good food and drink whilst specialist dancers, musicians and artists encourage physical and creative development with your little ones through play, exploration and interaction', the cafe / play centre are offering speed dating for the under 8s. Yes that is correct, TDLP will be hosting a speed dating event aimed to children under the ages of 8. 

 

The Valentine’s celebration will include dinner by fairy lights, freestyle walzing, romantic poems, hot chocolate, and a family quiz. So in theory, it's not something to be overly concerned with, however, describing it as an under 8 speed dating event, is probably the wrong approach, and has sparked comments questioning if an event like this forces children to grow up too fast by putting the idea of dating into our children’s heads too early?

 

There are child psychologists who believe children are already dating way too early, and with US surveys purporting that if a child has a first date between the ages of 11 and 13, he or she has a 90% probability of being sexually active during secondary school. First date at age 14 leads to a 50% chance; first date at age 16, 20% chance. So it's fair to say. the earlier a child started dating, the earlier they started being sexual active.

 

In reality, I know this party is more about folks meeting up and allowing the kids to have fun, than it is about anything else, but I do think the concept of an under 8s speed dating event is a bit too much. Am I wrong?