Dating is an awkward enough experience for anyone, but throw in the fact that you're a single parent, and it adds another complication to the mix.

Television and movies may depict characters hiding the fact they're a parent to keep from chasing people away. But Cat Cabajar, 29, thinks you should do the opposite. "I never hide the fact that I'm a mother because it's something I'm very proud of," she said.

Cabajar and her son's father split when her son, Maxx, was one year old. She jumped into the dating pool too early, dating younger guys. "It was hard, because they had freedom, you don't. They're thinking of themselves, and you can't," she said. At the time, she felt "torn" because Maxx always came first. "He's my whole world."

"Anyone who I was with would have to understand that," she said. "It's like my friend Billy Jo says, 'Yes, I have baggage, but it's cute and it matches.'"

Her now 7-year-old son also plays a huge part in her dating life. "Maxx is like my little sidekick. If there's someone I'm dating and considering being serious, I wouldn't wait long to get Maxx's opinion on them because kids hold nothing back," she explained.

As for her current love life, she is now dating a man who also has a child — a situation that she believes works best for her.

"I've had better success with someone who's on the same page and headed in the same direction (as I am). But it depends on the individual," she said, adding that a friend met a guy who did not have children, but welcomed her and her child and they are now a family.

Cabajar's advice to other single parents is to be open and proud, and trust you'll find someone to fit your situation. But first, take a step back.

"If I could go back and do it again, I would have given myself more time before I started dating," she said.

"It's important to give yourself that time and your family that time. You feel like you need to fill a void, but this is something you don't want to rush into. You'll be in a better place to make wiser decisions for you and your family."