15 Tips for Dating as a Single Dad
Of course, you will not meet a man with a child, a single father raising children independently as often as a single mother, but there are also a lot of them. Some of them remained widowers, some get divorced with their wives, while others even adopted children.
Challenges of Dating as a Single Parent
Single dads should understand that dating as a single parent is great, but the child should always come first. This goes without saying. Nevertheless, single dads should not forget that every child needs a mother even if she is a foster-mother. It means that dedication to a child should not limit your life on dates, but on the contrary, it's a great way to choose the right woman. She will not try to compete with your children to gain your attention. The right woman understands that everything should become serious enough before you introduce her to your children.
When a man faces the fact that he will have to raise his child alone, the first thing he should realize is that his life will never be the same again. Taking care of a child is a great responsibility, and it takes a lot of persistent efforts, time, knowledge, and experience which is always the hardest thing to gain. A single dad has to work a lot to earn money, raise children, bring them to school, and university. Many single dads just don’t know at the very beginning how to cope with this enormous amount of work. So don’t be scared if you feel like in a trap with no way out. That is a normal state for every single parent. But, eventually, you will learn how to deal with all the difficulties as well as how to start dating as a single dad.
Another problem you will also face sooner or later is the need to keep your child at a distance from the woman you date. In the first place, the child cannot yet be ready to get acquainted with the woman who is supposed to become his/her new mother. However, everything depends on the age of your child and the cognitive abilities to analyze and accept the surrounding situation. As a carrying parent, you should wait for the most appropriate moment to present your new love to your child to make it less stressful. Be cautious and don’t accelerate the natural flow of things.
Single dads should avoid thoughtless actions and introduce to their children only a woman who will be a perfect foster-mother. Also, when a child is quite young and vulnerable, a single dad should overthink all the details of the first meeting of his beloved one and the child.
15 Tips for Dating as a Single Dad
Online dating is a boon. Dating sites for single dads offer them a lot of advantages. First of all these bussy men don’t have to go on dates frequently to find their love among hundreds of women. Via online dating platforms, they can select the most appropriate candidates to shorten the list of potential partners. This way single dads will definitely spare much more time when compared to real-life dating that prevents them from spending free time with their kids.
Follow the “1/2 rule” if possible. This rule says that those single parents who already were in a relationship have to be patient and wait the half of the period of their previous relationships until starting a new one. This will help make the logical conclusions from previously gained experience and not to get immersed in another unsuccessful love affair.
Be honest with your kids. Try to prevent telling any lies about your relationship to your kids. Even if you are forced not to tell all the truth in a full amount. You have to let your child know that you want to move on and find yourself a partner. However, your child should also know that you will never do anything against his/her well-being. Talk with your kids and tell them that their opinion will always be taken into account.
Become better. Even after the unsuccessful relationship or a breakup you have to do the right conclusion. It is crucial for you do be demanding for yourself and critically analyze both good and bad things you have done to your previous relationships. This will give you more information on how to become a better partner, better parent, and a better person.
Don’t bring home just anyone. Your kids deserve to be treated as seriously as grown-ups. Never try to get them acquainted with a woman you don’t fully know or don’t fully sure about. Children pretty well feel when their parents try to lie to them. Remember that most children are getting used quite easily so that your new break-up can be very painful for them.
Always talk about your ex and other women respectfully. Things you say will always be carved in the young brain of your children. That is why you should never talk disrespectfully about other women even if they deserve it, even if this is just a joke. Your children learn everything from you. Your little boy will learn how to treat women poorly, and your little girl will learn that when men look down on women it is ok. Your actions might result in serious psychological trauma or cognitive dissonance.
Spend some time to get to know your kids better. If you remained a single dad, don’t haste to find another partner. Your children need you more than you need another woman. They should get all the attention you can give them. They feel lonely, and it is your primal duty to take care of them. Make sure they feel well and that your breakup or divorce, or the death of their mother didn’t put them in despair.
Be upfront about your situation. When a single dad starts dating after a long period of loneliness, he should be careful to avoid endless talks about them during the date. However, a single dad should also be frankly about having children that they take first place in his life.
Don’t let your ex interfere. If you broke up your previous relationship, then your ex-partner should not know a thing about your present personal and intimate life. Jealousy and the desire to spoil the life of men often push exes to idiotic actions. They may try to insult you and intervene in your life and the life of your children.
Forget your ex. This is the most significant single dad dating advice - never think about your ex. Forget her and live your life as you have never had to deal with her. Also, never mention her in the presence of your children or the presence of your new girlfriend or even wife. Nobody likes it when a man starts recalling the past and falls into his picturesque memories about his ex.
Focus on the future. Never look back at what already happened. You should take care of your kids with the most possible dedication without any regret that your life has brought you to this point.
Be patient. Parenthood, especially when dating as a single dad has numerous disadvantages. You will likely face numerous difficulties, but you will learn how to overcome them easily as this is what real hero-dads do. Be patient about finding yourself a next girlfriend or wife. Many women won’t react positively to your child, but the one who will become close with your child will surely be a perfect partner all along with your life.
Chat on the phone before meeting up. Never date with a person with whom you have never previously talked. It is always better to talk first and make sure that the partner sounds like a normal, balanced, and smart person. In a few phone calls, you will be sure if a girl is worth meeting her in person.
Be sensitive about when and how much time you spend on dates. Single dads and dating are compatible things if you know how to balance your free time and your parenthood. Spending time with a beautiful girl, you should be convinced that your child has already got the right message from you about your relationship and that a child is busy enough to not wait for his/her daddy in the late evening.
Keep your online dating ventures to yourself. Your intimate life, even if it’s one-hundred percent online should remain only your personal. Never let others and even your child spoil something, influence your relationships somehow or get into it too much. There should always be strictly set boundaries that would separate your intimate life from your child and vice-versa until your girl will become your wife.
Where to Meet your Women? - Dating for Single Dads
Being socially active and be ready-to-date are the best tips for single dads who are searching for a partner. The real-life date can become a perfect chance for two people to find each other. But single dads, as all single parents, frequently don’t have much time to spend it somewhere out of work or home as they are all immersed in their duties. That is why online dating services are the perfect solution for those men with limited dating options. These men can easily find a suitable person just in one click on the dating platform. However, many men just don’t believe in the power of online dating.
Women can find these men in other (real-life) places instead. These places are schools to which they regularly take their little children, supermarkets where they buy food, in the cafeteria where they buy their lunch as they don’t have wives to cook something for them. Also, you can meet these fantastic men on the streets when they go out with their kids or at places where they can spend time with their kids, for example, cinema, circus, zoo, amusement park.
Online Dating Is the Right Place for You
If you are a lonely man searching for your second half, then dating websites are exactly what you need to embody all your dreams about a complete loving family. Hopefully, the above-mentioned tips for dating as a single dad will be of some benefit for you, and you will learn how to look for your love destiny not risking to hurt your children.
Stop wondering how other people manage to build their relationships and register on those dating platforms that appeal to you. There is nothing you can lose but a lot that you can gain with this smart Internet solution.
Single men are rarely met, however, they exist. But they don’t necessarily have to remain single till the end of their lives because something went wrong at a certain time. Online dating is an option that can solve this problem, and it is up to a single man to change his fate.