There is a lot of talk about what makes for a “healthy” family and what “healthy” relationships look like. We talk about it here in the single parenting blog too, trying to sort out what a healthy parent-child relationship looks like and what healthy dating might entail for a single parent. One thing I have learned is that it depends on where you read and who you ask and you get very different ideas and opinion about what is “healthy.”
What is a “healthy” relationship? And, for that matter, what is a “healthy” family? I think that the evolution of the family and of human relationships in the past few decades have proved that a healthy family isn’t necessarily about how many people there are in a family and what their ages and genders are. I think it really comes down to our boundaries and mental healthy and HOW we interact with other, as opposed to whether there are two parents and 2.4 children (not to mention one dog, one cat, and two cars). Granted, this is my opinion and there is still plenty of controversy still swirling about what is “good” and what is “not-so-good.”
There are plenty of people who look at my single parent family, or the fact that my kids have grown up with divorced parents and think that it is a horrid, unhealthy situation. There are also plenty of people who think that a single MOM shouldn’t date, socialize, or let her kids meet anyone she might be interested in. I guess once we become a single parent, we are supposed to be ostracized for eternity. But, is that really healthy? There are others who think that parents and kids should be on equal footing and that there shouldn’t be any limits or boundaries and that our kids should be “in on” our personal lives from the beginning. I don’t think that is necessarily healthy either.
Regardless of where you stand on what makes a healthy family and a healthy relationship, chances are your opinions, viewpoints, and values are still evolving. This is still a hot and controversial topic and we single parents seem to be on the front lines of all that controversy!
Also: Combatting the Stigma of Divorce and Separation
Handling Those Intrusive Personal Questions