Should You Bring That Special Someone Home to Meet Mom By Pam and Bill Farrel l Relationship Advice l Dating Tips l Dating Advice l Finding Soulmate

Mother’s Day is a time for families to gather and celebrate the most important women in their lives. If you’re one of the lucky ones who have found themselves wrapped up in the joy of romance this spring, you may be contemplating if it’s a good time to bring the new object of your affection home to meet your family. Mother’s Day may seem like the perfect time to bring your partner home, but you definitely don’t want to take the leap without taking a few things into consideration:

Families have a big influence on who Christians date. In fact, a recent report by ChristianMingle.com revealed that 30 percent of respondents claimed their mother has the biggest influence of all when it comes to who they date. Nineteen percent look to their father as the biggest influence, and siblings are also considered influential at 18 percent. Being that family members have a large say in Christian relationships, we’ve outlined a few date ideas taken from our books “Single Men are Like Waffles, Single Women are Like Spaghetti” and “The Before You Marry Book of Questions” to help you decide if Mother’s Day is the best time to bring that special someone home to meet the family.

Still Wondering?

If you have experienced two or more of the date ideas listed above and are still wondering if now, this Mother’s Day, is the time for the meet the parents date, do a quick heart and relationship check using the acrostic below:

Note Your Own Heart: Are you sensing this person has potential as a marriage partner? You don’t have to decide that now—invite your family into the process and be open to their feedback.

Open Up the Conversation: Talk to your partner. Would he or she like to meet your family? Have they already expressed interest in meeting your parents, siblings and seeing the home?

Welcome Natural Opportunities: According to ChristianMingle’s report, 30 percent of people will only introduce someone they’re dating to their family once it’s a really serious relationship. Twenty-one percent wait until after the fourth or fifth date to start the introductions to family. We recommend not waiting! Introduce your love interest to family and friends earlier in the relationship before things get serious.