Any books out there that give advice about dating a divorced mother?

June 6, 2009 7:44 AM

Any books out there that give advice about dating a divorced mother?

A few weeks ago I met a really nice woman on eHarmony. We have a lot in common and have seemed to hit it off well. Everything is going great so far, and I want it to continue to go well. She is a few years older than me, has a 1.5 year old son, and was divorced 6 months ago (separated two years ago) after a seven-year marriage. Obviously, these factors create additional considerations that make dating a little bit different than dating a woman who does not have a child and was never married. I've found a few websites that talk about how to date a divorced woman/mother, but nothing great and no books that address the topic. There are a lot of books for women that want to date after divorce, but nothing that I can find about how to date a divorced mother/woman. Any books/other resources that address this topic? Furthermore, if these books approach the topic from a Christian perspective, that would be even better. Thanks.

posted by bcredrabbit to human relations (2 answers total)

Well, I do not have any advice for you directly, but I would focus on the fact that the divorce is in the past and the child is in the present/future. And the child is the one who has no control over who his mom dates. So if you could just be awesome and respectful of his needs, you will be off to a great start.
posted by Vaike at 10:37 AM on June 6, 2009

I checked a few library catalogs, Baker & Taylor's web site, and Amazon, and you're right, books about dating divorced mothers seem to be pretty rare. The few books I found from Christian publishers are more general in nature regarding dating and divorce. Have you considered using two similar books from both male and female perspectives and blending aspects of both? I found Dating for Dads: The Single Father's Guide to Dating Well Without Parenting Poorly and Mom, There's a Man in the Kitchen and He's Wearing Your Robe: The Single Mom's Guide to Dating Well Without Parenting Poorly, both by Ellie Slott Fisher. Dating for Dads has a small section on pages 189-92 about dating a partner with children.

You may also want to consider contacting a few Christian publishers like Zondervan, Bethany House, or even one one of the smaller publishers from the Christian Small Publishers Association, and let them know that there is a need for this kind of information from a Christian perspective.

Good wishes to you, your partner, and her son!
posted by gargoyle93 at 12:59 PM on June 6, 2009