Everyone has advice for single mothers. Do this, don’t do that, never allow this, don’t put up with that. When I was first divorced everyone gave me a hard time for allowing Hailey to sleep with me. How was I ever going to remarry if my daughter was in my bed, I was setting her up to resent my future, non existent husband. I finally stopped paying attention, it’s too overwhelming, especially since most of the advice is conflicting. As a single mother who has been in the trenches for a while I can honestly say that the two things … Continue reading →

I recently wrote about children needing to learn to respect their elders. We need to take advantage of all teachable moments. As a single mother there may already be so much on your to do list that one more thing will push you over the edge but we are their first teacher and need to be aware of it. Our children will learn by what they see us do. If we are rude to salespeople, waitresses or telemarketers we are telling our children it’s ok to be rude to other people. It’s hard after working all day, coming home to … Continue reading →

There is almost nothing that brings dread to a single mothers heart like a looming expense. This time of year that expense can be school dances. Prom season is such a fun time for kids but can be a huge expense. If you start early there are ways to make it less painful for you, and your daughter. Every girl wants to be a princess at her prom and that comes with a price tag. As a single mom there just wasn’t a lot of money to put away for things like prom dresses and hair dos’s so we had … Continue reading →

At times when you are a single mother it may seem that you live in your car. Between work, shuttling the kids to school, day care and after school activities you may see more of the inside of your car than your home. Not all trips with children are a joy, let’s face it, babies cry, toddlers get cranky and older children get moody. Unfortunately there really is no way to reduce the amount of time spent in the car unless you restrict your children’s activities. Since we don’t want to do that, we have to find ways to make … Continue reading →

I love to read. It’s one of my favorite things, I will put off doing so many other things just to curl up on the couch with a book. Luckily for me, I gave birth to a reader. Some of my favorite memories are the two of us laying at opposite ends of the couch reading. For some children a love of reading is something they are born with, others have to be brought to reading kicking and screaming. I say it’s worth the effort. If you child reads well and enjoys it so many things in life, like getting … Continue reading →

Our children are at risk of obesity along with a whole range of health problems simply because spending time outside is no longer a parental priority. When I was growing up, we were outside, coming in only for meals. There were lots of neighbor kids to play with and because most of our mothers were home during the day, no one really worried about us. My mother knew if she couldn’t see me one of the neighbors could. I remember my grandmother saying “Go outside, get the stink blown off of you.” That was her way of saying it was … Continue reading →

As a single mom it is a rare treat to be able to eat in a restaurant. The joy of someone else doing the cooking and cleaning, keeping your water glass full and making sure the kids have lots of napkins is worth the price occasionally. Since it is such a rare treat many children are not on their best behavior. It’s a strange place, they may be a little excited and they are going to be curious, not the best mix for a pleasant dining experience. In order to make sure your kids are restaurant friendly, you need to … Continue reading →

The lovely tween years, they are almost as baffling as the teenage years. Your little angel has gone from being a smiling, happy, bouncy child to a moody, eye rolling, smart mouthed tween. How did this happen? As parents the behavior of a tween is challenging and as a tween, it’s completely new territory. Suddenly your child is talking back, rolling her eyes, crying over the tiniest imagined slight. Initially you look for reasons, just like you did when she was a toddler and overtired, but this time, the reason is just that she is a tween. Girls tend to … Continue reading →

When Hailey was younger one of our biggest challenges was homework. After work and school there was so much to do that often homework was the last thing we thought about and it would be done in a hurry with no other thought than getting it done so we could go to bed. When you are a single parent it is hard to make time for everything but our children’s education is so important that we have to make time to let them know how important it is. I wish I knew where that dream family lives, the one with … Continue reading →

It’s spring cleaning time and a perfect time to teach your little one ( or not so little one) to clean up after herself. Being a single mother means you need all the help you can get so the last thing you need is to spend your time picking up things your kids have set down and never put away. Teach them when they are little and it won’t be such a battle when they get older. I always felt guilty having Hailey help clean up. My guilt from the divorce spilled over onto everything but I finally had to … Continue reading →