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Being A Single Mom

May 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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Being a single mother can be very difficult and frustrating, but being a mother is one of the greatest gifts anyone can ask for. When you are a single mom, make sure you have friends and family that are there to help you. Even though you are a single mom, you do not have to raise your kids alone. Of course you have to stay home and take care of your kids, but you do need to have some time for yourself as well.

Make sure your kids know that you are the boss. Many children in a home with a single parent may feel like there should be another adult, so they try to step in. Single mothers often need help somewhere along the way. Do not be afraid to ask for help; there are many single parent support groups you can join.

Even though things get hard at times, make sure you are keeping your home structured and comfortable. This will mean having regular meal times, bed times, and a few chores. There are also books that can be very helpful as well. Most single moms need all the help they can get.

Make sure your children know how much you love them. It is ok not to give your child everything he or she wants. Make sure they earn it and you are teaching them responsibility so they can succeed later in life. Remember, you never have to do anything alone. Friends and family will always be there to help.

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3 Best Single Mom Blogs

April 4, 2011 by Leave a Comment

You’ve recently been through a divorce and although the choice for separation was an important one, times are more than tough for you and for your children. Especially now.

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The good news is that moms all across the globe struggle with visitation rights, keeping their children dressed and well-fed, even paying the mortgage on time; it seems everyone has something to say about how it feels to be a single mom, especially those moms who are or have been in the thick and thin of it.

Need a single mom blog or two to cheer you up? Give you the added support to act on this most important journey called single motherhood? Want time for yourself but don’t know how to get it? Take a look at these helpful blogs:

  • The “What’s Wrong with Mommy?” blog delves into the personal trauma of divorce and its affect on children. Get the grit on working as a single mom, deal with visitation—no, mommy and daddy are not getting back together, and receive some frank discussion surrounding single parenting.
  • Get the honest truth from this young, single mom. “New Single Mama” shares her heartfelt journey with her child’s daddy in prison. Learn about dating, day care and keeping life going as a single mom.
  • “Ms. Single Mama” speaks on “life, love and motherhood” and brings readers to the ultimate reminder: “Life is priceless.” Get some positive shots in the arm to help you deal with the realities of single mom hood.

Get the help you need and then some with these insightful blogs on being a single mom.

Filed Under: Divorce, Family Tagged With: , , ,

Single Moms Working Outside of the Home

March 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment

A single mother working outside the home has three important questions she must ask herself:

Who will care for the children?

For older children, setting house rules is extremely important if they will be taking care of themselves. For school-aged children, a working mom must arrange for daycare and transportation, before and after, school. For children not old enough to attend school, the mom relies on other moms to find dependable, affordable daycare.

Will the guilt of leaving the children subside?

Once the mom works out who will take care of the children, the guilt she feels can overwhelm her, but she needs to know a few things that will ease that guilt. Since a single mom is responsible for everything involving child rearing, it can sometimes wear her down. It can wear on the children as well. The benefits of working outside the home outweigh any issues the working single mom may have.

Will spending less time with the children be harmful?

Contrary to what she may be feeling, young children do well in situations outside of the home when they are no longer dependent on only one person to fulfill their needs, physically and emotionally.

Children of working moms benefit because they

  • Learn to form lasting relationships with other adults in authority, and with other children.
  • Begin to appreciate the time they spend with their mother more
  • They learn responsibility and other important life skills for independence

Moms benefit by working outside the home because she is:

  • Developing relationships outside of the realm of other moms
  • Supporting herself and her children and taking care of all the family’s needs
  • Spending more quality time with her children because they are happy to see each other
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New Dad? Why Not Plan a Great Mother’s Day for the New Mom?

February 3, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Once a woman has a baby it might seem like all of the stress is over, but she’s really just traded the stress of pregnancy for the stress of motherhood. As a new dad, you’re likely seeing some of that stress and concern in action, and you may be feeling some of it, as well. With Mother’s Day coming up, one of the best things you can do is to help your partner have a relaxing, enjoyable day where she gets to do the kinds of things that she most wants to do. You might want to include the baby in part of the day, then keep watch over the new bundle of joy while mom goes off to do something just for herself, like a massage, a spa day, a manicure, or anything else truly relaxing and fun.

Before she does that, be sure to spend some time with her. You can get a card and sign it from the baby. Maybe breakfast in bed would be a good idea, too. While you’re at it, get her some flowers – hand-picked are better – and let the baby give them to her. You can even look around for baby costumes so you can dress the baby up like a flower or a bee in keeping with the theme. Cute costumes for babies are really popular, and you’ll bring a new mom so much joy by dressing up her precious child and having all of you spend some time together on her special day.

There are plenty of other gifts for Mother’s Day, of course, but the ones that mean the most are often the ones that are the most personal. Those are the kinds of gifts that mothers can really treasure, and the options that they will remember for a long time into the future. You can make some truly special memories on Mother’s Day with a little bit of advance planning.

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Single Moms and Money Troubles

January 4, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Single moms are raising children on their own today because of divorce or the death of a spouse. However, others are single moms by choice.

Choosing to raise a child on your own is not an easy decision. Although it no longer carries the stigma it once did, being a single mom still carries with it a unique set of problems. One of those problems deals with finances, but there are solutions to money troubles.
With the advent of computers and the Internet, many single moms now work from home, while some still work outside the home. Single moms working outside the home, must find reputable and reliable childcare for their younger than school-aged children. The best way to find such a place is to talk to other parents about daycare centers and pre-schools. Parents are the best judges of others taking care of their children.

Many businesses now accommodate single moms of school-aged children, by allowing them to work the same amount of hours their child spends in school. This is the ideal situation for most single moms. If working those hours means you live paycheck-to-paycheck, there are other ways to generate income without going on too strict a budget.
Everyone is handy or talented at some craft or hobby. Turn something you do well into something you can sell to others. Starting a business at home is easier now than ever. Start with your circle of friends. If enough of your friends become customers, by word of mouth, you can expand your clientele.
Another thing you can do is go through that junk in the attic or basement you have been meaning to get to, and hold a yard sale. You never know, something you find among your clutter could be worth a lot to someone else. This solution is two-fold in that it helps you clean your house and it gives you a little extra money.

Raising children on your own can be trying sometimes. If single moms can get through those times, coming up with ideas to bring extra money into the house, can be child’s play.

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