I want to begin this post by first stating that I am not a single parent and I could not possibly begin to imagine what a single parent goes through. My husband and I both experience challenges as parents together, but I am so lucky that I don’t have to do it alone. This post is dedicated to all the strong women (men too) who conquer parenthood on their own – you’re amazing!
Being a single parent is a challenge
A Single Parent – one of the most challenging and fulfilling and terrifying roles any woman (and even man) can ever have is as a single mother. It’s not something that anybody chooses necessarily, and it’s not often born out of chance, but it’s something that does happen and when it does happen you have to figure out how to make it work. Especially if you want to keep your child and you want to live as a family. Let’s not make the mistake that a family has to have two parents and a child.
Families are what you make it
Families are exactly what you make it, and dealing with the pregnancy on your own is not easy nor is single parenthood. Most of the time, single parents often forget themselves in their attempts to provide as much as they can for their children.
Surround yourself with a family that encourages
Articles such as https://embracegrace.com/dealing-with-pregnancy-alone can give you some tips and insight into how to do it by yourself, but you don’t necessarily have to. If you have family around you even if it’s not a partner, you will be able to manage parenthood by yourself, with some help. You need to be able to empower yourself as a single parent so that you don’t spiral down into self destruct or burnout too quickly. So with this in mind here is how you can do that.
Tips to Empower Yourself as a Single Parent
- Know your limits. Yes, you are raising children, but that doesn’t mean you have to compromise yourself in the process. You are a human being and that doesn’t mean that you are able to spend 24 hours a day awake dealing with children and work and everything in between. You need to ensure you understand the signals of depression, extreme anger, and frustration, and you also need to understand what it means to be apathetic. Knowing these signals and knowing your limits are going to help you to manage when you have to empower yourself to stay focused and present with your kids.
- Don’t be ashamed to ask for help. From family, from childminders, from childcare or daycare, don’t be ashamed of asking for help from anybody. Being open and honest with your needs will be able to ensure that your friends can help you, nobody is going to be able to help you if they don’t know you need it. If you have the affordability, higher help and get a nanny. Yes, that does mean putting your children into a childcare environment that you can trust and feel comfortable with. But you are an individual who still has career goals and life goals. Yes, you’re a parent – but you deserve to have some time for yourself. This will also go alongside the first tip.
- Do not sit with the judgment of others. It’s a daunting task to ignore what other people have to say about you as a single parent. They may say things in front of you and they may say things behind your back, but you have to make the decision not to sit with that judgment. You are in a unique situation, you are still a powerful person, and you have a child who’s going to be watching your every move. Allowing yourself to be drowned by the judgment of other people is only going to show your child that you do not have the strength that you need. But you do have it inside you, and it’s going to empower you to do better and do more than other people can.
You Can Do This – I Believe in You
It’s obvious that I truly don’t know what it’s like to raise my sons on my own. While my husband’s past jobs have taken him away from us for many hours on end – I’ve been lucky to have his support when I needed it most. Truly – I can’t imagine what a single parent goes though. I hope some of these tips can help empower you as a single parent. And, I want to remind you – that you’re not alone, and I believe in You!
Disclaimer: This is a collaborative post. All opinions are my own, 100% honest & unbiased. Affiliate links are posted throughout. Feel free to read my Disclaimer Page for details and information on sponsored posts, affiliate links, and more.
