Who on here has kids?

[pinkdutchtulips]

I've got one ... she's 6

Dating for me is a struggle - no family close by to help (xh's family is kind enough to offer to watch her but I'd feel weird about them watching her while I go on a date kwim ?) and full 24/7 custody.

[glynn]

I have 3. 23, 21 & 8. The big kids are off and gone so I only have to deal with the little one. When I date it will be on the weekends that I do not have DD2 or the one night a week that I do not have her. I can do a quick lunch during the week if someone is up for that. I did this when the big kids were little. When I have my kids I am a mommy when I do not have the kids I can be single lady. I will not be introducing DD2 to anyone unless I am really into them and they express the same for me.

[wampuscat]

I have one almost 3 yr old son. I have full custody 24/7.

[cuddlyevil]

I've got 3 - 10, 6, & 4. Due to his work schedule, I have the kids Wednesday evening through Monday morning. That puts a damper on dating because I have to make arrangements for dates on the weekend but it also complicates things because not every guy is willing to take a chance on what I have to offer.

[katieido]

i have  a five year old daughter and i have full custody, with one weekend a month with her dad in the next state over. my perspective so far is that it adds more challenges to dating. i never feel at liberty to be spontaneous about going out. 

the parenting time arrangement is new and will signify him seeing my daughter more often than he was previously, so maybe it will make it a little easier? who knows. 

i just dropped her off for a long weekend and so far i am filling my extra time with events and activities that i'm just personally interested in, not dates per se. 

[greysgirl]

I am mostly a lurker. I have a son who is 5. I have full custody. He see's his dad for a few hours most Sunday mornings. Dating is a challenge. My mom is really great about babysitting but I try not to make her too often. I do what I can.

[1confused1]

I have 2 kids, 6 and 8.


Dating is a challenge, when I did date I would either pay for a babysitter or try to go out on the few free weekends I had (if the kids were with their dad).

Life is so busy right now that dating isn't even on my radar.

[sweetchix]

I've got 2 DDs. They are 6 and 8.

ETA: we share 50/50 custody with a 2/2/3 schedule. I have not dated seriously yet, although even in the casual sense, it can be difficult at times due to the alternating schedule.

[sessy]

I have 6 year old twins. My ex gets the kids every other weekend. I have them the rest of the time.

[prettipenny]

I have 2 girls, 2 and 6. We share custody, I have them 5 days and he has them twice a week on the days he doesn't work. Dating with such young kids made me feel like nobody would be interested and I ended up gravitating towards men that also have kids. It's trickier to work around your schedules, but dating is still possible!

[formerlyak]

I had one when I was single. He was 3 when his dad left and 7 when I got remarried. I have primary custody, but he was/is with his dad one week night and every other weekend. I limited dates to those days. I figured if a guy was really interested, he would be fine with that.

[jellymankelly]

Oct 14, 2015 17:12:55 GMT -5 LoveBug said:

I have a 3 year old and I have full custody. I definitely sought out single men who were also parents because I needed them to "get it".

This was originally my strategy as well, because I had my kids all the time and I didn't think a man without kids would be as patient with having to wait to see me. I did that for a year or so, and then I met my FI, who hasn't been married and doesn't have kids. His mom was a single mother for awhile, and his sister is a single mom, so he got it even though he didn't have kids. I almost counted him out because he didn't have kids, and I'm glad I didn't!

It's definitely challenging. My youngest was only 17 months when XH and I split up and I felt like it was harder to date when I had a young toddler than it was once he got a little older.

[redshoejune]

I have a 2 year old and a 5 year old. I have joint custody, more than 50%. I haven't tried dating yet.

[achase123]

I have one, he's 6. I just got out of a ltr super busy with work and my little guy. Dating isn't on my horizon right now.

[pinkhighheels]

I have a 3 year old. My ex and I share 50/50 custody with the 2/2/5 schedule so I'm free every Monday and Tuesday then every other Fri, sat and sun. I haven't dated much but I usually just schedule dates on my childfree days.

[poptart84]

I've got a 7 year old son. Dating is a little different but myself and his dad get along and he goes with him most weekends so it makes it easier to find time.

[tevagirl]

I have a 3 year old daughter. xh moved out of state a couple months ago to get remarried. DD just got back from her first visit to his new place. I have been on one date since my divorce, and that was before xh moved.

[stephreloaded]

I have a 6y/o daughter. We have a long distance visitation schedule so I have her 24/7 except for when she has long school breaks (twice a year) when she goes to her dad. I live very very close to my parents and they help out a lot with her. My dating life is not existing though.

[prettyinpearls]

I have 2, but one is from my current marriage.

DS1 was 17 months old when H and I started dating. He knew from the beginning I had a kid and we spent the majority of our time together on the weekends DS1 was with XH.

[fluffernutter]

I have one daughter who is 15 months old. I'm not dating because we are still legally married.