Tips on Dating Your Child's Teacher

For single parents, dating your child's teacher can seem like a fun and impulsive idea. However, it is a big decision---one that should not be made on a whim. Teachers are in a position of authority and are held to high standards of behaviour by their schools, professional associations and other parents. Before you decide to date your child's teacher, there are a number of considerations that need to be made.

Dating your child's teacher brings with it a number of privacy issues. The teacher most certainly will not want other parents in the class to know about his or her relationship with a student's parent. Consider whether or not there is a school policy which discourages employees from dating their students' parents.

When you decide to begin relationship with your child's teacher, think about the consequences it may have on your child's education. Consider how it will affect your child from a social standpoint. Is your child likely to suffer from teasing because of your relationship? Will it affect the way your child and her teacher interact with one another? Discuss these points with your child's teacher before you begin dating, so you're both aware of the potential issues that might arise down the road. Writer Judy Porter suggests that parents consider what the worst possible scenario could be, and make decisions from there.

Be open and honest with your child about the possibility of dating his teacher. Ask him how he feels about it and don't try to persuade him to change his feelings. Instead, ask him if there are circumstances in which he would be OK with the relationship---for example, if everything were to be kept confidential. Online dating webmaster Matt Fuller urges parents to consider how your child will feel if things do not work out between you and his teacher.

If you do decide to go ahead and begin dating your child's teacher, you may consider moving your child to another school if and when the relationship becomes problematic. However, if there are other same-grade classrooms in the school, you may be fortunate enough to request that your child be moved into another teacher's class. Having your romantic partner discipline your child or give her a poor grade can quickly put a new relationship in jeopardy; on the other hand, giving your child special treatment because of your relationship status can cause other parents or teachers to complain.