The grieving process after divorce might be painful, but everyone goes through it. After all, your hoped-for and dreamed-of marriage is dead. It is natural to grieve. and once you complete those steps, it might be the time to think of dating again to see if you can make a wiser choice the second time. But before you begin the dating game, you need to think things through thoroughly with your kids as the key consideration.

To begin, assess how long your divorce has been final. What period of time has passed? There is no special or more-right period of time that is "best" for beginning to date. The only people that you need to consider when making this decision are your children. I'm not saying that you need to ask their permission; they might not be accepting of the idea for a while. I'm just saying that it is your job to assess the situation. How have they been acting? Do they ask you about finding some one new? How old are they? Are they little kids who really don't understand the situation fully, or are they older kids who really do know what is going on?

Second of all, you need to figure out your approach. If you do start dating, are you going to be open about it or keep it a secret from your children until you find some one that you want to be serious with? I have seen people take both of these paths. In my opinion, being open from the start is better. You may be opposed to this at first, but it really does ease them into the whole process. When a parent keeps it from them and all of a sudden is like "WHAM! This is my new boyfriend/girlfriend." It's a lot for some children to handle all at once.

Third, you're ready to begin to date again, so do it! How is that going to happen? Are people already trying to fix you up? You might already have a twinkle in your eye for someone? Would you prefer to join some kind of dating service?

This should be an exciting time for you. It might be scary to put yourself out there because it's been a while, but you'll get into the swing of things quickly. It's good to get past the grief of your divorce, begin dating again and meet new people even if nothing develops romantically. You can never have too many friends to share time and conversation with.

Len Stauffenger's parents taught him life's simple wisdom. As a divorced dad, he wanted to share that simple wisdom with his girls. "Getting Over It: Wisdom for Divorced Parents," his book, is the solution. Len is an author, a Success Coach and an Attorney. http://www.wisdomfordivorcedparents.com