I hope I don't sound like I'm intruding . I've never had kids , but I have lived in situations where the women I was with had children. In my particular case the woman was suicidal and tried to do damage to her self, I felt my role , prior to transitioning , was as a friend trying to help the kids trough a nightmare. One of the kids wanted to call me dad which I agreed to , but I was fully aware that for the best for the children's mental health I remained a helping friend rather then insert myself as a father figure. I'd been living with the mother for only a month , but I knew the mother and children a little longer. It ended up her going back to her home state after I took her to the hospital when she cut herself pretty badly. It was a nightmare for the children , but they survived. I would just say be a friend rather than some kind of authority figure on the same level as the mother. This is just my two cents and I truly mean no harm.