Parents Dating

If you have not read the first part of the post, I encourage you to go back and read it here. This is a continuation of what I had started to discuss about online safety tips for dating for single parents.  As mentioned before, online dating is a newer way of meeting new people, and as with any other form of dating, there are certain precautions that should be taken to protect yourself and your children.  That being said, online dating has been a wonderful way for many people to meet people that they eventually marry.  I know several people that have done just that.

• As I said before, do not provide your home phone number.  Use  a cell phone number, or even better, use Skype.  Skype is free to use all over the world when speaking to another person on Skype, and involves just downloading it on your computer and having an inexpensive microphone that you speak into and functioning speakers on your computer.
• Ensure that you get to see a clear, recent photo.  If you decide to meet up in person at some point, and he/she is not like the photo you saw, then it will be clear that this person is not to be trusted.
• When you do meet in person, never go to that person’s home or have him/her come to your home.  Always meet in a public setting, and let friends or family know of your plans and whereabouts.  Never involve your children in the dating process until you are sure that this person can be trusted and you know that you are in a healthy relationship.
• When meeting in person, plan to meet for a short date over coffee.  This keeps things reasonably short enough to give you enough information to make a decision as to whether you want to see this person again.  Continue to meet in public places for quite some time.
• Never assume that the online dating service you are with has done a background check.  Treat this person like any other person you would meet out on the street.

These tips for online dating for single parents should be used when meeting anyone (even those that you do not meet online).  Realize that many successful partnerships have come out of online dating, and so it can be a viable way of meeting new people.  Just like any other form of dating, it just requires some common sense to keep yourself and your children safe.

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