I’m a divorced parent of a 5 year old child, and have been living in a house with just the two of us for the last year (I have her 50% of the week). We’ve grown very close and formed a great bond, and have established routines and whatnot for our evenings and weekends.

My girlfriend and her child will soon be moving in with us, and while I’m excited about that I’m concerned about the impact it will have on my daughter. I grew up with parents who divorced when I was a teenager, so I don’t have any frame of reference for what it’s like to be a young child going through this transition. I’m concerned about how she’ll feel about the new dynamics of our household - sharing things and space that used to be all hers; and also not having as much 1:1 time with me when we are together too.

I’m honestly also feeling a bit guilty for putting her in this spot, and wondering if it would have been better to keep things how there were, where we had our own house and space until she’s older. So it’s been bothering me a lot.

I’d love any insight or context from people who have been through this type of thing as a child. What do you remember? How did it go? What was great about it and what would you want your parent to do differently?