7 savvy reasons to date someone with kids
7 savvy reasons to date someone with kids
I’ve just spent a week with my boyfriend and his cool-kids and was chatting to them about how I needed to write a new blog post. So it made sense to write a blog about all the awesome reasons people should date someone with kids. I joked that I couldn’t come up with any but actually with a bit of thought and some input from the kids, it was surprisingly easy to come up with this list. I don’t have kids of my own so these reasons are probably more applicable to the child-free daters amongst you.
So, if you are child-free and always find yourself scrolling quickly past those dating profiles of ‘people who have kids’, this blog post is for you*.
1. They keep me in touch with youth culture
For me, as a business owner who is always looking at how to innovate, it’s important for me to keep in-the-know with what is going down with young people. It may not relate directly to enhancing my business but just knowing what kids and teenagers are talking about, helps me feel like I’m still connected with the world in a well-rounded way. I think one of the things that ages people is losing touch with the younger generation so having these two-cool kids in my life helps me keep up-to-date on music, technologies, books, films, trends etc.
2. They make me do / try cool stuff I wouldn’t otherwise do
London Dungeons anyone? So, this is one of my favourite reasons for dating someone with kids. When I see them we always try and plan fun stuff like hiring banana bikes around Battersea Park, booking a session at the go-carting track, water-sliding – things that are great fun but I’d just never do if they weren’t around. It’s great for my health and stress levels to step away from the computer and go and do fun stuff as much as I can and these guys give me a reason to do just that.
3. They make almost everything we do a lot more fun
They are both so fun and vibrant that everything we do together is always more fun than if they weren’t there. Even just sitting round and chilling out is a good laugh. And I get to indulge in eating burgers, donuts and ice-cream more often.
4. They have a great, fresh perspective on life
They have such a great perspective on life that I always value their opinions and ideas. They have always been supportive of my photography and their belief in my talent right back in the early days definitely encouraged me to set up my business.
5. I get to do the fun stuff but not too much of the domestic stuff
They have a fab mum already so there was never any question of me having to take on a mother role, which was a relief as I knew from an early age that I’d struggle with the domestic side of dealing with kids. And, in fact, the kids learned quite quickly that my cooking and cleaning skills weren’t up to the job. But they value the role that I do have to play in their lives. I take cool photos of them, I help with their homework, I introduce them to house, rap and reggae, I help them see my quirky view of the world.
6. They keep me in touch with my childish, fun side
When the kids are coming, I definitely notice myself starting to tune into my fun, creative, childish side. I brainstorm games we can play or things that we can do together. Again, I value this as a creative, it’s good for me to be tuning into my creative, fun, childish side as much as I can.
7. They add value to my life
When I first started dating the boyfriend, long before I had met the cool-kids, I remember thinking what a shame it was that he came with baggage. But then, probably about a year after that, I started thinking differently. I started thinking how great it was that he came as part of this cool package and how they’ve added so much to my life.
Next month, I celebrate 6 years of knowing the kids and boy do I love those cool guys. So, to any of you out there hesitating about dating someone with kids, you just never know, those kids could just be the start of an amazing new family.
Coming soon, 25 reasons to avoid dating someone with kids (only joking!)
By the way, I love the fact that Charly Lester, from the prolific dating & relationship blog 30 Dates, referenced this post in her recent blog talking about meeting the parents for the first time. If you’re lucky, meeting your new partner’s friends and family will add so much to your life and become ‘a comfortable extension of your relationship, not a problem or a burden’.
*Disclaimer | I know I’m very lucky because my boyfriend’s kids happen to literally be the coolest kids ever & I appreciate not all kids are going to be like them.
