13 male, is it alright if I have a girlfriend?

[Sun Tzu.]

Hey, I recently turned thirteen and I was wanting to know if it's alright for me to have a girlfriend, I currently am not in a relationship but I have made moves on a girl I like. If it is considered okay, how would I go about making my feelings known?

[Andy]

Hi Sun Tzu. and welcome to the boards!

First of all, there isn’t really one right time to start (or stop) dating. There is so much more than just age that makes a relationship "okay" or what I think are better words, "good" or "bad". Among that things are for example if you yourself feel ready for the relationship, if you have a good sense of what you want it to look like and are able to communicate it, if the other person can do the same or how you feel about that person and where you are in life right now in general. I could go on, but we have the great advice column by our founder that delves more into it and includes some questions for yourself that are helpful to think about when deciding if you are ready for a relationship: Is 13 the "Right" Age for Sex or Romance?
Feel free to share if it brings out more questions or thoughts, we are happy to talk about them with you.

As for the girl in question, it sounds like you already know you are into them and would like a closer relationship with them, that is a good first step!
Is it someone you know and talk to regularly? If not, how do you feel about reaching out and asking if they would like to talk/meet up so you can get to know them better?

If this is someone that already knows you too, do you have a sense of what you want to tell them? Do you want to ask them out on a date, or are you already thinking about telling them about your feelings?
If you want to do some reading on the topic of asking people out, you can check this advice column (that has other useful resources linked at the bottom): How do I ask a guy out?

[Sun Tzu.]

So I recently turned thirteen and while I am not currently in a relationship, there is someone who I feel that I am sexually attracted too and she might be attracted to me, I have already made a move on her and I am planning on asking her out soon. But that's besides the point, is it alright for me and her to have consensual sex? If so, how do I go about asking her about it and figuring out if she's alright with it?

[Heather]

SunTzu: I moved this latest topic into this thread since this is related to the other topic you made earlier, which Andy has already started engaging with you about. Since you haven't even asked this person out yet, so feasibly also have not even ever talked to this person about sex, considering sex with them -- and I would say the same if you were 30 -- feels very hasty, so why don't you start with Andy where they started and you can get to talking to this if and when this is actually something she also appears to be interested in any kind of sex with you?