
Dating: Do Your Homework
If you’re single and dating and at least one of you has kids, you need to do your homework.

Show Notes
- Find out more atfamilylife.com/blended
- Check out ourblended family resources.
- Listen to the full-lengthFamilyLife Blended podcast.
- Contact us, emailblended@familylife.com
About the Host

Ron Deal
Ron L. Deal is one of the most widely read and viewed experts on blended families in the country. He is Director of FamilyLife Blended® for FamilyLife®, founder of Smart Stepfamilies™, and the author and Consulting Editor of the Smart Stepfamily Series of books including the bestselling Building Love Together in Blended Families: The 5 Love Languages® and Becoming Stepfamily Smart (with Dr. Gary Chapman), The Smart Stepfamily: 7 Steps to a Healthy Family, and Preparing to Blend. Ron is a licensed marriage and family therapist, popular conference speaker, and host of the FamilyLife Blended podcast. He and his wife, Nan, have three sons and live in Little Rock, Arkansas. Learn more at FamilyLife.com/blended.
Episode Transcript
FamilyLife Blended® Radio Transcript
References to conferences, resources, or other special promotions may be obsolete.
Dating: Do Your Homework
Air date: January 13, 2025
Ron: If you’re single and dating and at least one of you has kids you need to do your homework.
Announcer: For FamilyLife Blended®, here’s Ron Deal.
Ron: Single parents ask me all the time if they should get married and form a blended family. Now honestly, I don’t have any idea what’s best for you and the kids. But what I do know is that most people get married without having studied the process of becoming a stepfamily.
Just because you’ve fallen in love with a person doesn’t mean you’ll know how to be a family. Those are two entirely different things. A wedding that includes children is a package deal. The better you understand the package the stronger your family will be. So, dating couples, I know this doesn’t sound very romantic but it’s time to go back to school. Stepfamily School. For FamilyLife Blended I’m Ron Deal.
Announcer: To find out more visit familylifeblended.com.
FamilyLife Blended with Ron Deal is a production of FamilyLife®.
We are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you’ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider donating today to help defray the costs?
Visit http://www.familylifeblended.com/donate.
Copyright © 2025 FamilyLife®. All rights reserved. www.FamilyLife.com