I am 35, single and have no children - I’m dating a 36-yr-old man with full custody of his two children, both of whom I like quite a bit. This man lives at home with his parents to reap the benefits of built-in help with the children, as he works full-time. The situation appeared understandable at first, even advantageous as we were able to get take some time to get to know each other individually before bringing the children into it. The problem is that I am noticing that while my boyfriend has legal custody on paper, his mother has custody in reality. She appears to make many of the decisions for the children, and appears to be responsible for much of the punishment and rewards for the kids. I place a lot of blame on my boyfriend for allowing this and have been losing respect for him over time as I see him basically afraid to cross his mother when it comes to the children. Should I make an exit while I can or should I approach him about this? I don’t know if I want children or not - we have not discussed it - but I do know that if I had kids with this man, I would not want his mother raising them should something happen to me. I’m really beginning to resent his mother for her role in it and I am beginning to prefer not to be around her.