6 Safety Precautions You Should Take Before & During Your Dating

In one’s quest to find Mr. Right or Ms. Right, he or she will find that there are more Mr. and Ms. Wrongs. So that you are saving yourself time and money, learn how to protect yourself from a potentially bad date. There are tips discussed that may also save your life.

One. Take a self-defense course, watch an online video, or DVD about protecting yourself. You just never know a woman or man may act like a lady and gentleman at first, but spend a little time with them and they may do or say things that threaten you. Don’t get caught off guard. Learn maneuvers to restrain a woman who may be clawing or biting you. Find out how to fight a man who may be a lot bigger than you.

Two. When making arrangements to meet, let your date know that you have some things to do after the date. He or she may want to change the appointment, don’t do it. This will be your excuse in case you don’t like his or her company. If you don’t want to come off as a liar, really do plan to meet with relatives or friends after the date (Let them know in advance the name of the person and any other pertinent details you may have about him or her.) If it is too late to meet with family or friends, be sure you really do have work to do. You may tell your date that you have tasks to do such as ironing a shirt for the next morning, studying, cleaning your bathroom, and anything else that will send a message to him or her that these activities are more important than spending any more time with you. The last thing you want to be in anyone’s eyes including someone you are not fond of is a liar even if he or she is offended that you aren’t interested in them. You never know where you might see this person again.

Three. Don’t arrange to meet at your home or job on the first date. If you do this and the date doesn’t go well, you may receive pop up visits from him or her wanting to know when you will be available to go out again. Also, you don’t know enough about this person; he or she may be a stalker.

Four. Meet at a public area and drive your own vehicle. If you don’t have a car, be sure there are bus lines near the location. If you need to cut the date short, you definitely don’t want to have to rely on him or her for a ride. You may find yourself in his or her car having to listen to how bad of a person you are or arguing about some issue that happened during the date.

Five. Don’t ignore first impressions. The gut feeling or something told me feeling has saved many people’s lives. When you feel that this person may not be your ideal mate, don’t try to talk yourself into being in a relationship with him or her. Some people are gifted, being able to see what the future looks like with their date, and if you envision that you and the children you may have one day with this person will incur many problems, this isn’t an overactive imagination at work, this is a sign to keep away!

Six. Don’t plan to invite this person back to your home, hotel room, or any place where you will be out of the public eye. By accepting an invite or welcoming a date to your private spot especially during the first few dates, tells this person you are interested in him or her. If you find yourself on the fence about this person, don’t go back to their place thinking things will get better. Ask yourself this question, “How much time will I be spending in the bed with this person as compared to how much time I will be out of the bed with him or her?” Of course, you know the answer. So if this person irritates you, isn’t good-looking to you, and has bad breath, why settle?

Both men and women have a problem with rejection; therefore, one may not easily say no to another. If saying no is hard for you, then you will need to put a plan in place in advance that will help you let your date down gently once you discover that he or she isn’t right for you.

As mentioned earlier, you will want to include the following in your plan: skills on self defense, a plan of escape, limited conversation about where you live and where you work, arrange for your own transportation, keep your eyes open to things you don’t like about his or her personality, and avoid areas where you can’t be seen by the public.

By Nicholl McGuire