If you’re making progress in a new relationship, at some point you’re likely to meet his or her children. But just because they may be adults, don’t assume that dealing with them will be easier than if they were younger.
According to this piece from Mature Dating Talk, the key is understanding that these adults have a better sense of what’s going on, and may be more likely to see you as a replacement for the absent parent. But by keeping a few things in mind, you should be able to navigate those tricky waters. Among the suggestions:
Have realistic expectations — you are not going to become the Brady Bunch.
Even though you’re dealing with an adult, avoid treating him or her like a friend or colleague.
Don’t try too hard to make a good impression.
Accept that you’ll never be a parent to him or her, so avoid acting like one.
Because the children of a Divorce Over 50 are usually young adults themselves, there's an assumption that it isn't all that difficult for them. That's wrong. The assumption is that because the kids are older, they're better able to understand, they're busy with their own lives, and they won't be caught up in…
Susan Brown co-wrote a very influential academic paper about Divorce Over 50 entitled "The Gray Divorce Revolution: Rising Divorce among Middle-Aged and Older Adults, 1990-2-10." You can read it here. If you're not into dry, dense documents that include phrases like "The present study also attends to heterogeneity in the divorce…
A Divorce Over 50 not only impacts the couple, it also affects their adult children. We've addressed the Adult Children of Divorce (ACOD) a few times before (for example, here and here), always from the point of the view of the parent. Those takeaways include: Never assume it's easy on adult…
