Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man

clearly he’s involved with someone who comes with a whole
different set of obligations, responsibilities, and potential re-
quirements. (Note: Telling him you have kids is not good
enough.)
Besides that, the longer you hold off introducing him to the
kids, the more he’s going to think there’s something wrong
with them—that you’re hiding the kids for a reason. And that
will only make him more apprehensive about that initial meet-
ing; in his mind, you will have elevated the get-together to the
level of a G8 summit, giving the introduction way more power
than it needs or deserves. He’s meeting the kids, for goodness’
sake—they’re not sitting down to a state dinner at the White
House.
So, to avoid all of this, you need to get the kids in the game
early; a natural, casual introduction early in the relationship
will set all of you up for a much healthier connection. He should
be sitting across the room or at the park or at the ice cream
parlor with those kids right around the time you start develop-
ing emotional feelings for this guy beyond “I’m attracted to
him.” If you’re starting to wonder whether this guy is right for
you, then you might as well see if he’s right for the kids. Let
him see you and them in your natural setting—in a mother-
child capacity. He should see you feeding oatmeal and fruits to
the toddler, and braiding the seven-year-old’s hair, and folding
the ten-year-old’s laundry, and cheering the fifteen-year-old on
during football practice. He’ll be looking at all of these things