7 Tips How to Find Long-Term Relationship for Single Dad
Romantic life and dating can be pretty hard for anybody. People often look for advice on how to be more attractive to the potential partners or how to be more successful on a date and romantic life in general. But there are some groups of people that might have it harder than the average person. And single parents is one of those groups. Dating is very different for single parents. Single dads and moms find themselves in a very peculiar situation.
Trying to start the romantic life again, they realize that things are not what they used to be when they had no children. Priorities have changed and they need to consider the needs of a small person or two. Most of the single parents are single moms but according to the latest Pew Research Center findings the number of single dads has risen drastically. The percentage of single dads has more than doubled in the previous 50 years and is now 29% of single parents. So today we will focus on some single dad dating advice. There are quite some tips for dating a single dad on the Internet but not enough advice for the dads themselves.
The first step of starting dating again is to make sure you are ready for that. You don’t want to dive back into the dating world when you are not ready yet. There are two parts to this. First of all, you need to be sure that you’ve finished everything with your marriage. You don’t want to start a new serious relationship if you still have some legal processes to go through with your spouse. That can lead to a heap of problems you don’t want to be a part of. And dating a single dad with those issues can be a horrible experience for your potential partner. Having kids means you’ll have to deal with your former wife so it is a very good idea to put everything related to your past relationship in order.
Second of all, you need to make sure you are ready for the new relationships yourself. Sure, you may fool yourself into thinking that filing the divorce papers means you are free now and meeting new people wouldn’t be a problem. But that’s just wishful thinking in almost 100% of the cases. You need to give yourself enough time to grieve properly and make sure you are ready. If you screw up the first few dates because of some unresolved issues, it might become a slump that is difficult to get out from.
It’s also a good idea to be upfront with your kid or kids about it. Kids might think that you are looking for a replacement for their mother or other things. Remember that that’s a new experience for them too. And if you’ll try to hide your new relationship from them they can start to think that you are scheming something(which would be partially true). And you want to be trusted by your children. Especially in this moment of your life.
But don’t introduce every woman you start chatting with to your kids. This is supposed to be a serious conversation about a serious relationship. Don’t turn in into a routine that happens every week.
The next advice about single dads dating is to forget your ex. Try to not even mention her in a conversation if it’s not absolutely necessary. Even thinking about your ex may bring out some bitterness and bad memories. Not to mention that talking about her(especially in negative terms) might look like you still have some unresolved issues. Or even that you are a spiteful person and can’t get through a breakup in a civilized manner. Be positive and try to remember that you are trying to build a new relationship with a new person.
There’s no point in reminding this but your children come first. Your date should understand that you might have an emergency and cancel the plans at the last moment. And your kids shouldn’t feel like you have someone more important than them. Think about their predicament. Rash moves may ruin your relationships with your kids and prevent them to form a bond with your future partner.
Treat your single dad status as something positive not a burden. If you are creating an online profile on DoULike mention that it’s a blessing and a very joyful experience. Men who like kids and have a good relationship with their kids attract women. You don’t have to make this the main point of who you are as a person but showing you are a successful dad is quite beneficial. While showing that you don’t care about your kids or mentioning them as a burden would definitely mean that most women will close your profile.
And the last thing you should remember is a sleepover rule: “No sleepovers when kids are at home”. You should remember that it would be sometimes difficult for you to have a date at all as you’ll have to squeeze it in between your everyday life, and time spent with your kids. So planning an all-nighter would be pretty difficult and a sleepover at your place is a definite no. That is only OK if the things are moving towards the wedding but not for the third date. You’ll have to manage your time but if you try you can do it. Pick a night when the children would not be with you for example.
Starting dating again and managing your everyday life and your romantic life may be pretty hard for a single dad. But with a bit of hard work and luck, you can find yourself back in the game pretty soon. Following simple steps and remembering your priorities would help you find happiness and maintain good relationships with your kids. It might be confusing at first but try it and you might fight just what you were looking for.
