12 year olds should be allowed to date?

im 18, and my younger step sister is 12. i live with my dad and stepmom and apparently my stepmom is a lot more lenient than my mother is. i wasnt allowed to date anyone until i was 16, which i do admit was a little extreme. i understand times have changed and all that, but should 12 year olds really be allowed to date? and im not talking like a little movie date with friends or holding hands in the halls, im talking legit dinner, movie, the whole nine. what's your opinion?