7 Important Hacks To Make You A Better Single Parent
Welcome to yet another useful article on all things related to being a single parent. With these simple tips, you will even forget that you are a single parent. You must be having a lot of questions right now.
How do you budget for it? How do you work from home? I think it is time for me to give you some advice to succeed. Some advice might be harsh but don’t worry, I come in peace.
Don’t make yourself feel so special.
Don’t put limiting beliefs on yourself. You cannot fail to go to the gym because you have no babysitter, you can’t go meet friends because you are single. Don’t make yourself the victim. It doesn’t look good on you.
You can do anything that someone with a partner can do. Life doesn’t stop just because you have a kid and no partner.
You can try working from home.
If the pandemic taught us anything, it is that many of us can work from home and still be able to support our kids. If you decide to work from home, you better have many revenue streams. Many single parents have taken up work as social media managers, social media influencing, copywriting, graphic design, and so forth. These remote jobs enable single parents to stay home and work while bringing them closer to their babies.
This is cliche but. Enjoy being single. Embrace it. Don’t go looking for a partner. It is best to take some time to embrace being a single parent. You have to find yourself before you bring in another person to be around your kid. I know it can be a cycle of depression and fatigue but hang in there.
Take care of yourself
Don’t feel guilty for taking care of yourself instead of putting all the energy into your kid. Do your hair, wine, bubble bath, read a book, audiobook, go to the gym and do your makeup.
This will re-energize you. This will even help you be a good role model to your kid.
Try to get a babysitter if you are a single parent
Don’t feel guilty. You need time alone. Maybe go for cocktails with friends. This doesn’t in any way imply that you have no motherly instinct. It just means that you are creating some little time to enjoy yourself. To be honest, there is nothing ashaming about having a babysitter.
It is lonely to be a single parent
I’ve discovered that mothers often experience this, but nobody ever talks about it. However, for single mothers, it can be especially lonely during happy occasions, such as when your child first crawls or rolls over and you miss it because you were using the restroom. (True incident)
Early on, when your baby is crying every time you put him down, it can be lonely because you can’t get a moment to yourself between feedings, diaper blowouts, and outfit changes. Before you know it, it’s 1 pm, you haven’t taken a shower or brushed your teeth in Lord knows how long, and you’re about to cry out of exhaustion and frustration because you have no one else to turn to.
When you suddenly have to make important decisions because God forbid, your child has a problem or there is a problem that needs to be looked at, it can be lonely.
When you’re sick, it can be lonely since no one will watch the child so you can rest or visit the doctor. As a result, you try to drag yourself and your children out the door, manage to drag them to the walk-in clinic and then pray they behave while you’re waiting at the drugstore.
Find a friend who is a single parent
I laughed at this, and even now, there’s a part of me that shudders whenever I hear the term “mom” used as an adjective preceding any noun. But it’s accurate. You need a support system if you’re a single mother. Having your own family, your extended family or a few pals is insufficient. Whether it’s in person or online, you need a moms’ group. Although I only have a small handful of mom friends in real life, I have found my mom tribe via online cloth diaper groups, the comic book community, and my writing groups.
Conclusion
You need a quiet place to unwind after a long day to rant about how rude your child is. You need a place where you can be honest about being a “bad” mom and not be met with “hey, I’ve done that, too.” Find some other single mothers and fathers that are going through the same things as you and don’t have a partner. They will understand what it’s like to work a full-time job, return home, and then have to prepare dinner, clean up, put the child to bed, and do it all over again with no assistance or company.
Lastly, if you are a single mom with a newborn, I have an article that I specifically wrote for you.
