Dating Tips for Single Dads

As a single dad, dating goes from being awkward and confusing to extremely awkward and confusing, especially if the children you have are relatively young.

That being said, if you’re divorced but don’t want to be alone, dating is certainly going to be a necessary evil. (Who knows, you might even have some fun too.)  For those of you who are single dads and want to get back out on the “dating scene”, this blog’s for you. Enjoy.

First, make sure to be as honest as humanly possible with your children. The temptation to keep your dating a secret, even for a short time, will be strong, but you need to resist it. There’s no need to go into extreme detail, by any means, but lying to your children and keeping secrets can damage your relationship with them,  so don’t do it.

Now, you are certainly free to date whoever you like, but when it comes to introducing those women to your children, it would be better to make sure that the only women that get a formal introduction are those that you are very serious about. The reason is simple; children can be very sensitive about these things and, if they see different women coming and going all of the time, they can easily become confused and insecure. Simply put, that means using excellent judgment about who you bring home to meet the kids, and doing so only if you plan to stay with that woman for a substantial amount of time.

Speaking of different women, no matter what your inner feelings might be towards your ex-wife or any of the women that you’ve dated, always make sure to talk about them respectfully in front of your children. The simple fact is that children are like sponges and, If they see you treating women disrespectfully, or talking about them in a disrespectful manner, they will tend to do the same. Also, if you have a daughter (or several of them) talking disrespectfully about women can be quite damaging to their psyche.

Unrelated to actual dating is the need to spend quality time with your children whenever possible. Yes, as an adult you have adult needs and crave adult interactions and conversations. That being said, your children still need a father and, frankly, will only be children for a few years. Spending quality time with them right now should be higher on your priority list than dating strange women, no offense.

Lastly, use protection. Let’s face it, just because you’re older doesn’t mean that you can make a baby anymore. Unless you want more children (or a sexually transmitted disease) using contraception is a must.

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