Meeting a woman with a child is not a red flag. Every situation is different. Some ex-husbands are great people, some are ********. Some kids are well behaved, some are little tyrants. Some women manage their life and their time and treat you well, others are so ruled by their parenting obligations that they don't have time for you, but expect you to make time for them.

You are only held back by you. If you believe you can do it and really try, it works. At least for me it does.

You get to around 40 and EVERY GUY worth having just about has a kid or an extreme hobby. Your choice. It's the same with women. If you have had a conventional life, you probably have a kid by this age.

I am a parent myself, so someone who's a mother certainly has some advantages. Like knowing what raising children is all about. But a mother with one or more boys in their teenage years does not make a promising prospect for me.

That's my experience. Most women over 30 who I'd want to be with are either married, committed to a career, and/or have kids.

Them having kids usually isn't a big deal.

I got to where I aimed higher when I did date, which I am not now doing by choice. I aimed for the ones who were good enough dads that they not only had children, their children were high functioning, in college, etc. It is really a measure of a man often when you see how their kids end up. I know that may sound shallow to some. I dated a guy who texted his kid back and forth while the kid was IN HIGH SCHOOL CLASS WATCHING A MOVIE BECAUSE HE WAS BORED. I said "What if he is watching 'Grapes of Wrath' or 'Of Mice and Men' or something that is iconic in American culture otherwise??" He was like "It's just a movie". He turned out to be "just a dumb guy".