Single…with children.

Dating sites have changed the relationship landscape for single parents with children. Parents, of course, worry about how dating a new partner will affect their children – and how easily their new partner will accept those children.

Vicki Lansky, author of Divorce Book For Parents: Helping Children Cope With Divorce And Its Aftermath, offers this advice: "For many, dating and sex for the second or third time around is very daunting. Simply because you have been married in the past won't always mean that you are more qualified in this area than someone else. Gaining back a socially active life is crucial, it assists a parent from obsessing about their job as a parent. Allowing your adult lifestyle to be completely dictated by your child's is very unhealthy for both parent and child."

Lansky offers and delivers commonsense tips for single parents, such as meeting your date somewhere other than at your home for the first few dates, and not to have too many different romantic prospects coming into and out of your children's lives – while this is obvious to most parents, what feels like a long time between partners for you may not be to your children - it sends the wrong message.

Making time for dating as a single parent.

Fitting dating into an already hectic schedule really is pretty tough, however maintaining active social outlets is a crucial component to your self care for single parents. So how do Moms and Dads set time aside for themselves as well as maintaining their children's constant attention needs?

There are groups of single parents that get together for pre-arranged meet-ups at the local park, McDonalds, or at one of the parents homes. But for those single parents who don't have access to regular baby sitters, these meet-ups usually involve dragging the screaming kids along with Mom or Dad hardly being able to relax and socialize, missing the opportunity to get to know the other Moms and Dads - sound familiar?

Hookmeup Online has recently introduced a single parents online group facility where Moms and Dads meet up online and can interact via live singles chat sessions making the whole 'getting to know each other' process that much more convenient. If you are a single parent and are stuck in a social rut, you owe it to yourself to take advantage of what free dating websites can offer time restricted single parents.