Older Woman Dating Younger Man

Dear Dr. Dave and Dr. Dee,

I'm a 40-year-old single mom who met a nice young man at a party who is 34 years old. He has called to ask me out, but I'm not sure if I should since I'm older. My coworkers think I'm too old for him. He knows I have a child and how old I am, but he still calls. We have long fun talks over the phone, and I think it would be nice to go out, but then I can just imagine my coworkers hassling me about going out with a younger man. Should I go out with him? Is the age difference significant? Could there be any problems with an older woman dating a younger man?

Signed,

Older, but not wiser

Dear Older, but not wiser,

You should stop listening to your coworkers. They are not in charge of your life, and you don't need to discuss your personal activities with them. It's really none of their business.

Go out with him and have fun. No, the age difference is not significant. Even if the age difference were greater than 7, 10, or more years, it still wouldn't matter. The May-December generation gap would be the same for an older man with a younger woman, and there doesn't seem to be much controversy with that, so the reverse should hold. The only time the age difference for an older woman and younger man could be an issue is if the woman is past the age to have children and the man wants a biological child. Otherwise, adoption is a viable option.