Common-Sense Dating as a Single Parent
I originally wrote this article on February 3, 2016.
I’ve written some very-detailed articles about how to date a single parent, the benefits of dating a single parent, supporting a single parent, and creating a dating relationship with a single parent.
But recently, I was communicating with a single parent who seemed a bit lost about juggling his part-time parenting responsibilities and his shiny, new relationship which he is eagerly pursuing. I wanted to give him very concise advice. Here is what I said:
When bringing a new person into your life, Single Parent, you say to that person,
“This is how my life looks. Here is how I parent my kids. Here is the kind of relationship I have with my kids. Here is the amount of time I spend with my kids. This is what we do together. Here is how much time I have away from my kids, and here is what I do with that kid-free time.
“Is this a situation you want to try to fit yourself into—EXACTLY AS IT IS RIGHT NOW?”
“No? Okay, then we’ll have to part ways.
“Yes? Okay, great. Are you up for the challenge of figuring out how you fit in and are you willing to go out of your way to do so? Are you clear that my kids and myself, as their parent, come first?
“No? Okay, then we’ll have to part ways.
“Yes? Okay. Now you need to share this with your children and I, with mine. And we have to make sure that they still feel loved and secure, and we’ll have to continuously stay attuned to how they are feeling about having you, an outsider, injected into our lives. And we’ll have to address each concern as it arises.
“We can’t get lost in teenage-like infatuations or develop an ‘us against the kids’ mentality.
“We’re responsible, mature adults who make our children the priority.”
Check out my other Single Parent articles:
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