As a stepfather myself I can say that it isn't about you or the kids (or at least for the guys I know). It's the rest of the extended family and real father. How often did I get to hear that I wasn't my daughter's father? Thousands of times. Heck, I couldn't even be anything but an emergency contact for my daughter. Who was there for the soccer practices, the dance practices, the sex talks, the boyfriend advice ..? It sure as heck wasn't her real dad and that's what's wrong. Because I was the real dad. But I had to fight the legend of the deadbeat loser, I had to fight the schools, I had to fight the government and I had to fight my in-laws.

So to be honest, it takes a special kind of guy to date and marry a woman who already has kids. And I would warn them all to be very sure of what you're getting into because you aren't just dating the mother and kids, you're gonna be in for a war with the world and you better be ready for it.