I need all you mums advice...
I'm at the point in my relationship where I feel ready to introduce my "boyfriend" (wow I haven't used that word since I was a teenager) to my 2 young children. He is the only person I've been with since my children's father.
But I don't know how to go about it and am worried about how their father will react. He was an emotionally and physically abusive man so I want to make it as easy as possible for my children and for it not to cause issues with their father.
This is the first time I've been happy in a very long time so I want to go the right way about it.
1 Replies
Take it slow. Don't use the word boyfriend. Have a BBQ with friends and have the boyfriend there too. Then maybe a week or two later go on a picnic or an outing with the BF and kids. Then in another week or so invite him for lunch.
Gradually just build it up slowly. No sleepovers for a few months yet and it's important to set some boundaries.
My rules are 1. I'm the parent, new BF is like the cool aunt or uncle who isn't responsible for discipline. 2. My kids need 1:1 time without BF and not everything I do with the kids needs to include BF 3. No child nudity around BF and no kids in bed with boyfriend, no BF bathing, or dressing kids.
My number 1 responsibility is to protecting my kids and there have been horrible things happen when BF take on too much repsonsibilty with kids who aren't there own and have too much access to kids that aren't there own.