Dating tips from your daughter

I know you probably never in a million years expected to be on a dating site. But I'm here to tell you: Everything's going to be OK. Actually, we're here to tell you.

For this feature, I rallied my girls. Together, we came up with about a zillion things we wish we could say to your face. Then I hand-picked the best. Print this, memorize it, stick it to the fridge and please heed our words. Just like you always wanted the best for us, we want the best for you.

1. We do not want to find you in da club

Even if you're suddenly single, you're not suddenly demoted to student status all over again. You've got the polish, sophistication and maturity age brings. You have depth, taste and expensive clothes. You should not, for Heaven's sake, be doing body shots in a Cancun bar.

"Don't try and fit in with the younger crowd," advises 26-year-old April. "Use your experience and maturity to your advantage."

2. Keep your dirty laundry to yourself

You wouldn't show up to a first date stark naked, would you? So why would you post your deepest, darkest secrets on your Web profile or confess them in a bar on a first date?

We appreciate the confessional compulsion and the many needs that inspire it: You're trying to provide full disclosure up front. You're lonely and need a shoulder to cry on. But just as you wait a few months before parading your cellulite around under the fluorescents, you should wait till you really trust someone before exposing your soul.

3. Hang on to those old-school manners

Kids these days have no idea how to treat each other. Please, don't follow our example.

If you are a woman who knows how to cook a great meal and serve it in sexy lingerie, or a man who always opens doors and buys flowers... well, you'll have more dates than you can program into your Blackberry. Maybe your ex stopped appreciating it but all us single folks will love it. We might even learn a thing or two from you.