When did you introduce your kids to your partner?

[Sunshineandflipflops]

Hi, following on a bit from another thread...I’m just interested to hear how long people waited to introduce their kid/s to a new partner?
I don’t personally think 8 months is really quick (if you have been in a positive, exclusive, respectful relationship for hat time and you see a future together) but others obviously think differently.
I’m not in this position myself as i’ve only been dating someone a few weeks but genuinely interested to hear experiences.

Ds met my Dp 2 weeks after I met him.

Dp is my best friends brother, he had been living away so I had never met him. Ds calls my best friend auntie. It was another year before me and dp got together, then we were very casual for a while before we got serious and another 4 months before ds knew we were a couple.

Didn't introduce them straight away but let the kids know what was going on as they were late teens and would have guessed something - and I didn't want them to feel like I was hiding it from them like their dad did with his OW.

DP spent a couple of hours with us at my house one Sunday as a family friend. We had been dating just over 2 months. Wouldn't have chosen to do it that soon but he is military and was deploying and I didn't want him to go without seeing how he was with my family. He is now back, it's been around 18 months, he sees them every Friday night when we have pizza and a movie all together - it's fantastic 😎

Better than fucking up your children by introducing them to a man who you don’t even know very well and who then leaves and another takes his place.

Did you really wait 2 years?

Just over a year for us, although I told my kids about him after around six months.

I thinks it's normal to have male and female friends -your dc don't have to know you are being courted. I think it depends on your free time and how you date, age of dc? They didn't know details but they knew I was having an evening out with my friend or lunch etc.

I met my now dh whilst out walking the dog and with the dc in tow. We dated but I used to meet him at restaurants ( without the dc!) and we continued the dog walking, then supper after and it just seemed very natural and easy. He didn't stay overnight for months but then i like to take things slowly.

I have full care of the dc, work full time and live in the sticks so even babysitters are hard to come by as it's in the middle of nowhere!

Dc can get attached to anyone and be hurt when you fall out. Female or make friends.

You don't snog in the sofa though, you behave sensibly in front of the dc. And if it dies go wrong you don't share your emotion with the dc. If you can't do that and try and play happy families too soon, don't have them round at family times. My now dh is very formal ( military) so although lovely with them not cuddly or anything when we were dating.

I haven't met anyone worthy of meeting my kids yet, been dating around a year and had two relationships a few months each in that time. Both relationships I hoped would work and I was quite into them, but I never came close to introducing kids. I don't think not telling them is an issue - if I was with their dad I wouldn't mention id been out for dinner and had sex