tweens pairing off in school

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my daughter is in 7th grade..12 yrs old..came home from school last week and announced she wanted to have a school boyfriend..my natural response was no..followed by why having any boyfriend until possibly high school was not going to happen..advised her the purpose of having a boy friend was to get to know different types of boys one on one to give a clearer understanding of the type of person she will ultimately want to have in her life on a more permanent basis.. i told her she needs to figure out who she is w/o someone to color how she learns about herself.. told her it was okay not to like me..and it was okay to be mad at me because as a mother i am not in a popularity contest.. anyone else handling this? any insight?