Thoughts on Single Parent Dating

Being a single parent is not always easy. Trying to find time start or carry on a meaningful relationship on top of all your responsibilities as a single parent makes dating an even harder proposition. One of the biggest issues is the happiness of your child or children and it is something you need to think about. After all, you are a single parent, not just single.

Being a single parent doesn't mean that you are off limits in the dating world. While there are some people out there that have no interest in dating someone with kids you will probably find that there are also a lot of people who like kids and will not reject you because you have kids. In fact you may find that you run into prospective singles without kids who are very interested in dating you because you do have kids.

Now if your single because you are recently divorced or widowed from a long time marriage the idea of starting to date can be very frightening. One thing to remember is that dating hasn't really changed that much. It's still two people getting together and finding out what they have in common. About the only difference these days is the proliferation of online dating.

Online dating can be a single parents best friend for several reasons.

1. You don't have to leave the comfort of your home. This can be a god send if you
have small children.

2. You can be matched with other single parents or persons who share your interests and who like kids. This takes care of the fear of rejection because you have kids.

3. You get to know your prospective dates before you ever meet them, saving you time and energy.

Just be sure that you aren't starting to date again for the wrong reasons. It's very common to feel like you need to prove to your ex-spouse or partner that you are desirable to other people. You have nothing to prove and you should never use other people to get some sort of revenge against your ex. It's not fair to your prospective date or you.

This brings up another very good point for the single parent thinking about dating again. You need to leave your past relationship behind you. That emotional baggage is a complete turn-off in a new relationship. If you are still bitter about the past and can't let it go you may not be ready to date again.

Once you do start dating there are several things you need to keep in mind the most important of which is your kids and their feelings. You must integrate your new "friend" into your home life slowly. They need to realize that your kids come first and their needs must be met before anything else.

You may want to wait before you introduce your new partner to your kids until you are more sure that the relationship has potential to last more than a few dates. You don't want your kids to meet someone only to see them disappear quickly and be replaced with someone else.

Being a single parent and entering the dating scene can be scary. It can also be a time to really get to know yourself and meet some new and interesting people. If you are ready to begin dating again, take it slow and enjoy yourself. After all, dating was fun before you had kids, there is no reason it can't be fun after having kids.