Single-parent | Caught in the Middle

How to Handle Single Parent Stresses

Single parents normally deal with number of stresses regularly. It is very important for the single parents to have a balance between their life and work. Here are few simple tips to overcome the stresses that could happen in the life of the single parent.

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Single parents are mostly only person in a family who has the stress to bring income on time and sometimes money can become tight to handle. The money in-flow is as important as creating security systems in your household to handle all the basic things required for running the family smoothly. For example, due to lack of money at certain times, parents may not be able to get all the things for their school going children and this creates little tension and stress between the parents and their child. This can be handled by the single parents by being open to their children and letting them know about the current economic situation of the family.

Parents can reduce their distance and tension with their children by simply making a routine calls during their busy work and letting them know that they are always for them. Mostly, task overload create a lot of tension among the single parents. They often feel emotionally as well as physically exhausted. Also, youngsters in the family may become very opinionated and more arguments may develop in the family. Single parents can deal this by taking some rests and taking some emotional support from someone around the house.

Sometimes, single parents become very much worried about the child’s changing behavior because of separation. Parents need not have to worry, this actually diminishes over the period of time.

Filed Under: Family, Parenting, Stress Tagged With: Family, Parent, Single-parent

Being A Single Mom

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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.

Filed Under: Family, Parenting Tagged With: Child, Mother, Single-parent

Getting by as a Single Working Mom

Whether you’re a single mom by personal choice or forced circumstance, you know there are many challenges that go along with raising your kids. Single working parents don’t just have to keep their careers on track. They also have to cope with the emotional struggles that go along with their situation and create a stable and loving environment for their kids. Here are a few tips to help you out.

Make time for yourself:

It might seem impossible with all of your commitments, but you need to take time out to take care of yourself. While it’s important to have people at work who understand you, it’s also helpful to make friends from out of the office so you can have some time for a fun break. More than anything, though, make sure you have time to just be alone.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help:

When you need help, be it for a babysitter or someone to help pitch in with something on the job, it’s important to reach out. It’s also very important to develop a support network to be there for you to help out with practical things when you don’t have the time to get everything done. They’ll also be there for you when you’re dealing with emotional struggles. You’re network can of course include close family and friends, but you should consider reaching out to new people and joining a support group.

Remember you’re not alone:

Single working parents can feel isolated. But keep in mind that there are many people you can count on that will be there for you when you need someone.

Hold on, kids: it's starting to rain, and we gotta run for home!

Filed Under: Family, Parenting Tagged With: Family, Single-parent, Support group

Finding Time for Dating

During these tough economic times, more and more single parents find themselves working multiple jobs just to make ends meet. Being a parent is a full-time job by itself, and with the combination of parenting and working, most people just can’t find time for themselves, let alone dating. Who has time to go out to a bar, club or any of the other usual hot spots where singles meet? Are single parents destined to be alone? Single parents are now able to find that special someone with a little help from the Internet.

As the Internet became more popular and widespread, dating became fun and easy thanks to interactive dating sites. Now, instead of surfing the net just for fun, you can use it to find true love. You can choose the gender of the partner you are looking for and create your own unique profile. Completing this profile helps to match you with the most compatible partner and takes the guesswork out of whether someone is a good match for you.

Allowing a dating site to help you find that perfect someone allows you to spend more time with your children then on going out and dating someone who you don’t connect with. There are several articles to help with the online dating scene and to give single parents advice on re-entering the dating scene. Do your research and make sure to create a truthful profile to allow for the best possible match and to allow you to meet that perfect someone.

Filed Under: Family, Parenting Tagged With: Dating, Online dating service, Single-parent

3 Best Single Mom Blogs

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: Divorce, Mother, Parenting, Single-parent

Discipline and the Single Parent

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Many divorced people will find that their children may suddenly start misbehaving more than normal. Often this behavior is played out in mind games ” children”s way of dealing with the breakdown of their family. Even though the marriage no longer exists, parents do not divorce their children. Therefore discipline should still be a two-parent process, especially for major decisions. This is especially important if the parent with custody is still single.

If one parent believes that a child is pitting one against the other, they need to discuss most disciplinary decisions. One parent may say no to something and the child then gets a yes from the other parent. If both parents discuss requests and major decisions they can generally put up a united front. The child should also know that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.

Granted, it will not always be possible to communicate with the non-custodial parent. Much day-to-day discipline will rest on the parent who has custody. This can be hard, especially if the parent is overcompensating for the “loss” of the other parent.

If both exes have different disciplinary styles, having children who frequently spend time in both households can be confusing. Setting boundaries is therefore important so that the child knows what is acceptable and what is not.

Sometimes it will be necessary for a single parent to seek help when it comes to disciplining their children. This may be just a matter of talking to another single parent, a teacher or counselor. An impartial person sometimes has a perspective that you do not have.

One way to make a success of discipline as a single parent is to be direct in some expectations such as when to go to bed. Sometimes punishment will be necessary to reinforce the disciplinary actions. Punishment should be appropriate to the age of the child.

Filed Under: Divorce, Parenting Tagged With: Divorce, Parent, Single-parent

Single Moms and Money Troubles

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.

Filed Under: Family, Parenting Tagged With: Mother, Single-parent

Working at Home for the Single Parent

Many single parents face childcare dilemmas. Not only do they have to decide what type of care to have for their children, they have to deal with the problems that arise when their normal childcare doesn’t work out. Sometimes their children may not be able to go to daycare because they are sick, or maybe the day care center is closed for holidays that your office does not get off. For many single parents, working at home could be a great solution to their problems.

Most people think that working at home is something that is reserved only for those who are rich or in very specialized positions. This may have been true in the past, but now with more information available online and more online services available it is easier than ever for people to work online. Your current employer may allow employees to work at home, at least part of the time using online services that allow employees to connect even if they are miles apart. Video conferencing has become an important part of many companies. You may be able to view and even participate in meetings without ever leaving home. This is a very real possibility for many workers.

If your current job won’t let you telecommute, maybe your skills could be useful on the open market. There are many online portals for working from home. If your skill set matches with what is needed you may be able to make as much or more working from home. There is a big market for personal assistants, writers, web designers and programmers who all work from home. Another possibility is starting your own business. If you are creative you may just find an untapped market out there that you can build your own business from the ground up. The sky is the limit!

Filed Under: Divorce, Parenting Tagged With: Childcare, Employment, Single-parent, Telecommuting

Balancing Work and Parenting Responsibilities

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Being a working parent can be rather challenging. Being a single working parent is even more so. This is the position many divorced people find themselves in on a daily basis. Juggling both roles is difficult especially for a parent who was previously a stay-at-home mom or dad.

Parenting in itself is not always easy. Luckily there are ways that a single parent can successfully balance both working and parenting responsibilities. It will take some trial and error before finding the methods that work best. What works for one person may not work for another.

Here are some tips that have been used successfully by singles parents regardless of gender:

-Find a network of people who can assist with watching the children in an emergency. Depending on the job, you may be called away without warning. It is necessary to ensure that these persons have a good relationship with the children. This will ensure harmony and give you peace of mind.
-Make a list or set up a yearly planner of the family goals you need to accomplish and set completion dates. It may be something as simple as going to the park every Sunday as a family. Remember that as children get older they will not want to spend as much time with you.
-Sometimes better organization and time management is all that is needed to strike a workable balance between family, work and any other responsibilities.

Since work and family should be priorities in your life, you need to find common ground where one does not overtake the other in importance. If work becomes your main focus you will find that family relationships may suffer. Single parents generally need to work so as to take care of their families’ needs, but this should not be to the detriment of family relationships. Work, while important, will never be as fulfilling as the family bond.

Filed Under: Divorce, Parenting Tagged With: Child, Family, Parent, Single-parent

Organizing Play Dates with Other Single Parents

Play dates are scheduled get-togethers where parents allow their kids to interact and have fun. Play dates are important to many single parents, especially when they have just one child. These meetings help them to develop the kind of social skills which prepare them for the real world.

For single parents, play dates have added significance. They give single people the chance to meet. Who knows what may develop at just the right moment? Even without a new romance, new friendships are not so bad either.

The hardest thing for single parents to do, especially if they were previously married is to go about setting up play dates. It makes sense to organize them with people you already know and get along with. There is the option of planning activities beforehand, but playing comes naturally to children. It can also be a good way to help them handle their parents- divorce.

Organizing play dates is generally harder for singles for a number of reasons. One main reason is being able to find the time in between working, caring for family and relaxing. Single parenting is often more demanding as there is no support such as that provided by a spouse.

Arranging the Play Date

The first step to arranging the play date is to decide which children you want your kids to play with. This may be their best friend or friends at school, children they sometimes see at the park or even the neighbor’s children who are of the same age. Once this hurdle is taken care of, it’s on to finding great spots to have those meetings.

The park is always a good place. Some parents like having play dates at fast food outlets with play areas for little ones. No matter what the activity is, or the setting, the kids’safety should always be kept in mind.

Filed Under: Divorce, Parenting Tagged With: Child, Parent, Play date, Single-parent