5 Tips For Single Parents Who Want To Start Dating Again

For single parents the decision to get back out there and start looking for love isn’t always easy. If you’re anxious about returning to the dating game, there’s always an excuse for putting it off until another day – whether it’s your busy schedule or having nothing to wear.

The good news is that rediscovering love doesn’t need to be an experience filled with stress or anxiety. Here are five easy tips to start experiencing love and romance today.

flickr.com/photos/lel4nd/5444924248/

Are you truly ready?

If your gut instinct is telling you to shirk away from the dating scene then it’s probably for a good reason. For single parents dating nerves are completely natural, but you should be able to distinguish between everyday worry and any deeper issues affecting your confidence and self-esteem.

If you’ve been living single for a number of years, the dating game can seem fraught with the risk of rejection. Before you get back out there, it’s important to feel confident in yourself and, most of all, feel confident and happy with single life. After all, dating shouldn’t be a means of warding off loneliness, but rather a chance to find happiness with another person.

Learning to love yourself completely is always the first building block to finding the right person to love you back.

What about the kids?

Countless single parents across the country put off dating again because they’re anxious about how their children will react. This might be because they’re concerned about disrupting a young child’s lifestyle, or nervous about how a teenager or young adult might react. In reality, however, all of these scenarios are manageable if you handle them with care.

Telling your children that you’re ready to date again will be influenced by a lot by things, like their age and maturity. It’s important to be patient and understanding as some children will find it confusing to come to terms with.

In the long run, however, most children will be happy when they realize it’s a choice that will bring you happiness and confidence.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shimelle/518480593/

Finding the right sort of person

There’s nothing worse than getting to know a friendly, eligible person, only to discover they just don’t like kids. Compatibility in dating is shaped by a number of factors, from your core values to your interests and hobbies.

Being a parent is a huge part of your day-to-day lifestyle and finding a ‘child-friendly’ partner is an important part of dating. This is more than just finding someone who likes kids, but rather it comes down to the task of finding someone who is also prepared to commit to a partner with children.

One of the best ways to discover singles in your area who share this attitude is by looking online. Relationship sites, like eHarmony.com.au, specialize in bringing together compatible, like-minded people who share similar lifestyles and core values.

Introducing a partner to your kids

The final stage in the dating experience can often feel like the most difficult. Introducing your children to a new partner needs to be a gradual process that gives everyone time to adjust.

Always choose a non-threatening environment to host the introduction. For younger children this could include a trip to the park, while for older kids why not go for a casual meal, like fish and chips?

Don’t expect miracles on the first meeting – after all, relationships do take time to develop. But with the right attitude you can succeed in bringing these two different parts of your life together.

 Disclosure: Guest article by Laura A