Oh, well thanks! Very kind of you. :)

I think I am in love with Maria!!!

Always the kids have to come first. I had pretty much decided I wasn't dating any longer when someone resurfaced in my life after 22 years (I dated him when I was 19-yikes). While as a grown up, I knew I would go out with him and see how it went, I wanted to make sure that if this was something that was gonna stick it had to be introduced in a way to the kids that was acceptable to them, like they had some involvment in what was going to happen in their future as well as mine. (Kids are FAR better judges of character than we give them credit for). I decided to let them "interview" him for a potiental date with their mom when it came to the point to introduce them to him (and this is totally a thing you feel in the pit of your stomach). They came up with a list of 15 questions and they called him and wrote down all the answers then told him they would review his answers and get back to him. It was really quite funny. Now, almost two years later, we are all just as happy as we can be. I kept their "interview" sheet and framed it. It hangs in our bathroom as a daily reminder to remember to take their advice from time to time since they know and love me so much!

I completely agree with the comments that it's situational based on the guy and the ages of your kids. I introduced the kids to "M" fairly quickly after we started dating (I think it was 6 weeks in) - but I'd also known him for years as a friend, which made a huge difference. If it hadn't been someone I'd known for years I probably would have been much more paranoid - police check, Google-stalking, who knows.

I like SilverXeno's take. I'd also say that I'd wait until it seemed pretty serious, but not until I thought it was going to be permanent -- that seems too high a standard. But all of that is colored by both the age of your kid and the kid-copability of the guy involved. Tough to be abstract about.