With Mother’s Day just passed and Father’s Day around the corner, online dating sites are making sure not to forget about the single parents out there. Some are even offering special deals or gift certificates for people with kids and most provided some tips, stats about single parents or even just nice greetings. But a lot of them have been focusing on the other side of the coin: men and women who are dating single parents.

How quickly to meet in person and let someone into your home-life is a complicated question for online daters but gets even more complicated when there are kids around. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day tend to bring this issue to the forefront and sometimes to a crisis. That’s why the advice most dating sites give is to start off by keeping your distance.

For most people, this is a day to spend with the kids and sometimes only the kids. There’s even a chance that your new flame’s ex will be part of the festivities instead of you and that’s to be commended. After all, mother’s day and father’s day is a good time for exes to appreciate the mother/father of their children, even if you are no longer in a romantic relationship with them.  If you are invited to join in, make sure to give your date and his or her kids space and let the kids call the shots.

However, even if you won’t be spending the day your relationship may have progressed enough that some recognition might be nice. But keep it simple: you wouldn’t want to out stage any macaroni picture-frames that may be in the offing. Flowers or a card are good bets and if you think it’s appropriate to take it a step further, considering something that shows you appreciate that the kids come first. A gift certificate for kid’s portraits or tickets to a family friendly event on some other day of the calendar are a great way to celebrate together without stepping on any toes.