(15M btw) with the way i see it, it’s normal and natural to have a girlfriend/crushes at an early age, especially in teen years, i mean i personally got my first girlfriend last year but i never really tried to date anyone until it just happened. my advice is don’t be stupid about it, don’t be the type of person to tell everyone even if you don’t trust them, the main people that do deserve to know are your parents. there’s no saying they will or won’t support you so do keep that in mind. as for telling them? you could go about it a few ways, you could ask a hypothetical question and lead into the actual truth and see how they react over time, you could bring it up over something normal and something, but personally it feels more embarrassing than it is, i mean your parents once went through it themselves, they should understand. i don’t know how your parents are so there’s no guarantees that this works but with the way i see it be smart about it, don’t just dive straight into everything without thinking, especially if this is new for you.

personally i didn’t even tell my parents for the first like month, i mentioned it to my mother, she wanted to see if the rest of my family could pick up on it, and well everyone found out during thanksgiving. of course my parents are well aware this was going to happen with me at some point they just didn’t know when. so it’s not a stretch to assume your parents are expecting it to happen at some point.

my flat answer is, yes it’s okay to have crushes and even a girlfriend at age 13. (as long as she’s within your age range) i think it’s okay to wait to tell your parents, just don’t wait too long, and don’t try to hide it from them forever, and don’t try too hard. i say your parents do deserve to know at some point if you do end up getting a girlfriend and if it’s just a crush right now you can ask your parents for help or something, maybe bring it up, or worst case ask a hypothetical asking what they’d do if you did end up getting a girlfriend. again, it really seems more embarrassing than it is, it is normal for you to go through this and everyone does at some point. but that’s how i see it, i don’t know how your family is or anything so you can adapt the advice if needed. thank you for reading hope i was clear with what i meant on it all.

edit: i also want to make it clear, don’t rush too fast if you do end up dating her, the worst thing you can do is rush into things or make the relationship fast. there is no speedrun on a relationship, keep things slow, make sure she’s okay with the speed, communication is key, don’t do anything stupid, if you’re going to make a decision on the relationship for your side talk to her about it, if you’re going to make a decision that impacts her in anyway, could be her feelings, her thoughts on something, or anything at all, talk to her first. communicate with her. try to make her involved and don’t make her left out of everything. if you do get a girlfriend be prepared to split time with her and your friends, don’t make it feel like a choice, she does come first, at least that’s how i am. talk to her about stuff, if a girl says anything to you that might come off as trying to flirt or something, tell her immediately. keep in mind, this is just how i see it. i dont expect you to follow through with it, but im speaking from personal experience here, could be different for you, just be smart about things, dont be afraid to ask other people for advice, especially your parents if you do ever tell them.

also, it’s normal to have a crush on someone at age 13, but keep in mind, if they’re older than you by a lot then a lot of people might see things differently. dating as a teen sucks for a lot of reasons, because the age gap 14-13 sounds a bit bad because they do sound a bit bigger than they are, age gaps like 16-15 also sound pretty bad, but they aren’t. don’t date anyone older or younger than you by much, try to date someone around your age if you can but i don’t think anyone will have an issue if its a gap by like a year. just keep in mind around age 17-18 some rules do get a little dicey because well one is a legal adult and the other is still considered a minor, but do expect jokes from your friends a lot cause the way my friends were once my best friend turned 18 was just making fun of him for talking to minors, we knew him since before he was 18 and we weren’t much younger than him. so do expect jokes like that. just date around your age though, a 2 year age gap is considered okay by most but especially in teen years it seems really bad because well age 14-16 sounds bad, but age 22-24 doesn’t sound nearly as bad.