The world is full of songs (some good, some bad) about breaking off relationships for all kinds of reasons. If only it were as easy as some of them make it out to be! The reality is that you’re probably going to go through several different potential partners before finding that really special one, so sooner or later you’re going to have to face up to it.

You’re just not feeling it with a particular person and you want to break it off – now what?

Breaking up is hard to do (my apologies to Neil Sedaka) but it’s not impossible to do if you go about it the right way. While there’s no single “best” way to end it and move on, there are some general things to keep in mind:

1. Be honest. This is really, really, really hard to do. It’s tough to honestly tell someone you’re not interested in seeing them anymore, so it’s tempting to make something up. Don’t give in to this temptation because it’s only going to end up badly. It’s far better to open a conversation, share your honest feelings, and exit the situation gracefully.

2. Do it in person. Sometimes this isn’t possible, but if you can do it in person that’s the best choice. This doesn’t mean spending a long evening together and then springing it on the other person at the end, but it does mean having the courage to say what you need to say to his or her face.

3. Never burn a bridge. Old advice for sure, but still valid in today’s world. Never end a relationship by saying or doing mean things to the other person, even if it’s really, really tempting to do so. It’s a small dating world out there, and if you treat someone badly during a break up I can almost guarantee it will come back to haunt you at some point.

Breaking Up Breaking Up, Feelings, Rejection

Let’s face it, finding someone special and dating when you’re a single parent is tough. There are so many things to consider, from your kids’ feelings to your own baggage and more, it might seem easier to just a) forget about dating and crawl back into your hole, or b) not say anything about having kids until you’re a little ways into a dating relationship. Neither of these is a good option, so what’s a single parent to do?

As hard as it may be, never lie, mislead, or conveniently forget to mention that you have a child/children. This approach never turns out well for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that you’re starting out a relationship with a lie. Not a good way to establish a successful relationship!

It’s far better to focus on looking for potential partners in ways and in places where a single parent with children does not stand out as unusual or undesirable. A good place to start is with one of the online dating sites that have services catering to single parents, such as:

www.match.com – Not strictly a single parent site, but with a strong sub-community of singles with children

www.singleparentmatch.com – Separate from match.com, but catering solely to helping single parents meet each other to form friendships and/or relationships

www.singleparentmingle.com – Another online dating service focused on single parents, this one has a number of extra features available like compatibility matching, chat rooms, forums, blogs, and more.

So if you’re a single parent, don’t be afraid to get out there and start meeting new people. There’s lots of ways to do it and online dating services to help you along!

Family Children, Divorce, Kids, Parents