Suppose you’ve found someone that you truly love. It can be a coworker at your job, an old high school sweetheart, or someone you’ve grown fond of elsewhere. Whatever the case may be, you’re in love … but you also want your children to know about your partner – That’s the tricky part.
While telling your children about your romantic relationship with someone isn’t easy, you can still have that conversation when done right. With that said, here are 7 tips to take note of when talking to your children about you dating someone new:
- Don’t Jump Into It Right Away
“It’s not easy for kids to understand how and why you’re in a relationship with someone,” says Christine Hathaway, an arts blogger at Elite assignment help and Oxessays. “So, jumping at the chance of telling them right away is not the best way of getting them acquainted with your new partner. Instead, wait until you’ve fully established your relationship, before introducing your new partner to your children.”
- Tell Your Children Individually
Talking to your children as a group might not suffice, because you’ll get a slew of reactions left and right, which can turn almost chaotic. Therefore, it’s best to tell your children one-by-one, so that all of your conversations are intimate and focused. Plus, this method allows each child a better sense of safety and more room for reacting to the news.
- Explain Why You’re In Love With Someone
It’s important to let your children know why you love someone very much. Talk about the things that your partner does that makes you happy. Does he or she like the same hobbies as you do? Do you both share the same values? Do they make you special in some ways than one?
This would be a good opportunity to show your children how your partner treats you – that’s important in ALL relationships.
- Let Your Kids Know That You Still Love Them
Chances are, your children might not feel like they’re being loved anymore, since you’ve found someone new – but that should never be the case.
That’s why it’s important to let your children know that they’re still the number 1 thing in your life, no matter what happens. Remember: No relationship should ever change how much you love your kids.
- Question Time
“There will come a time when both you and your children will have many questions to ask,” says Beatrice Stone, a lifestyle writer at UK Writings and State of writing. “If your children have questions to ask, let them. Any and all questions are acceptable at this time. You yourself can ask them questions as well; but don’t force them to answer if they don’t feel like answering. While taking in the news can take time, it’s important to ask them questions whenever they’re really to talk.”
- Give Them Time
So, now that you’ve told your children about your romantic relationship, what happens now? Well, now that your children know about it, let them breathe. In other words, give them plenty of time and space to think about it. Don’t rush things.
By giving them time, you’re allowing them to sit with their emotions, and process what they’ve just learned. Plus, you can reassure them that they can ask you questions, if they want to talk about it some more at a later time.
- Plan The First Meeting
Finally, plan the first meeting between your partner and your children. Ideally, you would want to make that experience fun and natural to your children – where everyone can relax and have a great time. You don’t have to bend over backwards to create the perfect scenario – just have something simple like going for a pizza, being at the playground, or wherever you’d like. Include family activities for you, your date, and your kids can enjoy.
Now, you may want to plan this event ahead of time – preferably within a couple of months of telling your kids that you’re in a relationship.
Conclusion
As you can see, letting your kids know that you’re dating might not be easy at first. In fact, it can take time for children to be accepting of your new partner. So, be sure to take things slowly, let your children feel how they want to feel, and always be there to love and support them. Once you’ve established this new connection between your children and your partner, you’ll soon welcome a new addition to the family.
Elizabeth Hines is a writer and editor at Essay Roo and Big Assignments. She is also a contributing editor for Study demic. As a digital marketer, she helps companies and nonprofits improve their marketing strategies and concepts. As a content writer, she writes articles about the latest tech and marketing trends, innovations, and strategies.