It’s the age old tale, boy meets girl, they fall in love and get married, have a couple of kids, get divorced and move on with other people.
Okay, okay, that isn’t really the way we were told things would go, but the reality is, that’s the way things went for many of us.
None of us really got married thinking the person we married was anything other than “the one”. None of us really expected that who we vowed to spend forever with wouldn’t actually be a part of our forever.
And what in the world are we supposed to do when we finally get back into these dating streets and meet someone new? How are we ever to determine when we should introduce our new partner or potential partner to our kids? How are we to know when the time is “right”?
We don’t want to upset our kids. We don’t want to have people saying bad things about us.
The Bright Side
The thing to remember though, is no when or how you decide to introduce this new person in your life to the people you love and care about, especially your kids, you run the risk of upsetting your kids and having people say not so nice things about you and/or your choices.
However, another possible outcome to that is, your kids could meet, take to, and build a genuine connection with the new man in your life instantly and the people around you could be genuinely happy for and supportive of you and your decision to move on with someone new.
The truth is, no one can make the decision of when to introduce your new man to your kids for you but you and you need only listen to your heart. You see, no matter what other people feel or what they have to say, the decision is ultimately up to you.
I will, however, give you a few things to think about when trying to make the determination of when the time is right.
Live YOUR Life
Please know that despite what you may have heard or read, it is absolutely fine and actually pretty healthy for your kids to see you dating and happy.
Know that no one controls your life or your happiness, but you. Also know that it’s absolutely okay to casually date and also to introduce a guy you’re casually dating to your kids.
You don’t have to divulge any more information to your kids or anyone else that you don’t feel comfortable with. You can introduce the guy you’re casually dating as a friend (if you guys are just casually dating that IS essentially what he is right?) or… not. It’s totally up to you.
YOU determine what goes on in your life and if you think your kids are old enough, mature enough, or whatever enough to let them know that the guy you’ve introduced them to is someone you’re only casually dating, then do that!
If you feel it best to only introduce a man you’re dating to your kids if you’re dating exclusively then do that! Listen to your heart, your gut and you will not go wrong.
The “right” time is when YOU feel it’s “right” and THAT is what’s most important.
