How to Introduce Your Children to a Girlfriend

So, you have started dating again and just met this great lady. She's attractive, she's fun to be with and things are starting to move along--heck, you may have even been intimate together. Back home, there are children who may not know about your new girlfriend. They may only have ever known you with one other person. How do you break the news to your captive audience? Read on to find out.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• A girlfriend
• Children
• Enough patience to juggle them both

1. Make sure there are no surprises. Don't introduce your your children to a girlfriend and follow it up with, "and we're getting married next weekend." The easiest way to introduce the notion of "another woman" in your life is as informal as letting the children answer the telephone. The regular calls from a woman, and only one woman, will allow a child to recognize her voice and name.
2. Informal meetings can be as simple as going to the park or riding bicycles along the riverfront. On such excursions it is not uncommon to have a meal or stop for a snack somewhere. Provided such event is not the culmination of the outing with your children, you will have created an informal atmosphere for the children to meet someone.
3. Have a reliable babysitter for the formal dates you and the girlfriend have. Be upfront about who you are seeing, and where you are going. While the child may not process it intuitively, the re-occurrence of a name will become more common. Ensure your babysitter does not gossip about you and your date.
4. Formal introductions should take place in a relaxed atmosphere for the child. Family functions, weddings or Christmas are not the times to be introducing your children to another woman. The first meeting they have should take place where the child is not required to be on "best behavior." Likewise, they should not be physically or emotionally excited by events. Having your child meet someone whom they approve of makes the future infinitely easier.

Tips & Warnings

• Always limit the amount of physical affection in front of your children, and your girlfriend's children, in the early stages of introductions.
• Your friends will have already screened your girlfriend before she ever meets your children. Let your friends show how accepting they are of your girlfriend in front of your children.
• Do not introduce your children into multiple girlfriend's life.