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A fact of life in today’s society is the abundance of single parenting families. Often these single parents are overwhelmed with the multiple tasks associated with supporting, raising and loving their children.
While some would like to blame many of society’s ills on the children who have grown up in a single-parent household, there are an enormous number of success stories. In an effort to support those single parenting families, we asked our readers for their tips for single parents.
These tips come not only from the parents who have “been there done that”, but from the adult children who were raised successfully by a single parent.
- Never blame the absent parent for anything - even if you know it was their fault. This will never help your child or your relationship with him/her I know it worked because I was a single parent for 12 years and I have a good relationship with my daughter.
- My one piece of advice for any single mom or dad is to always remember to have confidence in yourself and your strength as a person and a parent. I'm a single mother of two young children. I want them to grow up knowing that their mother was not a victim of her circumstances but a strong woman who was dealt some blows, but always got right back up again. Having confidence in yourself will translate to your children. They watch us more carefully than we think they do. How else did they learn that curse word they suddenly said at daycare yesterday?!? Help them learn to be confident by setting the example. Help them grow up to be strong people who can handle anything. You never know what may come their way in life. Prep them for all of it with confidence.
- A good tip for a single parent is to make an organizational system and stick to it! Keep all of your and your child's activities on a large calendar in a centrally located place. Keep it updated. Keep a running grocery list next to it, and a list of other things to remember. Once you have an organizational system in place that works for you, you'll find that you can get a lot more done as a single parent. I know this tip works because I was raised by a single parent. Without a family organizational system, it never would have worked!
- Have your child keep a journal that she can take to both parent's homes. My friend's daughter has a journal that travels back and forth with her and it really helps her to feel at home in both places.
We hope you found inspiration and encouragement in these tips on being a single parent. We received such a response that they are continued in Single Parenting Tip.
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