Dear Prudence,
I am an elementary school teacher. I recently became aware that a mother and a father of two of my students are dating. A colleague is Facebook friends with the mother, Carrie, through a non-school-related connection, and pieced together that Carrie is in a newly (?) open marriage and dating the father, Tom, who is divorced. Their children, my students, are best friends, which is great in terms of their current situation, because they are all spending a lot of time together (sometimes with Carrie’s husband, sometimes not). What two consenting adults do in their personal lives is none of my business, and I’m not entirely sure what my students’ understanding of the situation is, but I imagine they know their parents are “special friends.” My concern is that this relationship will run its course and that my students will be forced to sever a close friendship due to the interpersonal politics of their parents. True, maybe they’ll make it as a throuple or whatever this is for years to come, but all adults involved seem somewhat volatile, so my hunch is that this will end, and likely not on good terms.
If things do get weird or bad, is there anything I can do to support my students (if they are still in my care at the time)? Or if their classmates find out that their parents are dating but Carrie still has a husband, which even for our fairly liberal area is a little out-there for young kids to rationalize? Normally, as long as children are safe and taken care of (which these students definitely are), I don’t pay any mind to home life quirks, but this situation feels like it has the potential to bleed into the classroom in a negative way.
— Want to Mind My Business