Dating Men with Children...

Before we embark on this (serious) topic, my disclaimer is that I am writing this from the perspective of a single, childless female who would someday like to have children of her own.  And nor do I represent all single childless females...
I am also writing as someone who has tried (with difficulty) to date (at least one) man with a child.  And by "men with children" I don't merely mean someone who has fathered children and then abandoned them.  I mean someone who is currently acting as a responsible father and engaging in some form of shared custody.

The positives:
1.  Men with children tend to be gentle-spirited.  Having a child, and also being one of the primary care-takers of said child (meaning shared custody) opens up a person's tender side in a way nothing else does.  This is true of both men and women--I have female friends who were more tender, gentle mothers than I ever expected having known them in their childless years.  Men who are emotionally open in this way are attractive.
2.  Men with children have more priorities than going out to the sports bar and having a beer, watching the latest football game, or partying it up until the sun rises.  They tend to be more mature and well -balanced.  Again, attractive.
3.  Men with children aren't afraid to have children.
4.  Men with children aren't looking for women to take care of them.  They can take care of themselves and a child.

The difficulties:
1.  Before the relationship gets "serious," it is hard to know if/when/how to involve the child.  Depending on the age of the child, this may be variable.
2.  Invariably, it is hard to date a man with child without trying to visualize yourself as the step-mother.  Because of this, the relationship can move faster/get more serious quicker than one is accustomed to.
3.  The child is always the priority.  This is utterly understandable.  But this may be difficult for a lot of women (sans children) to understand or accomodate.
4.  Men with children are still on some level connected to and/or interacting with their ex, by way of logistics of sharing the responsibility for another little human being.  Again, this may be difficult for some women.
5.  It's complicated.  I don't think this warrants more explanation.