Tag Archives: distance

Parenting when They are Away

The reality of many single parents’ life is that they do not always have their children with them. While from what I have learned we do have to have boundaries and allow the other parent to manage things while the kids are at his or her house that just is not always practical. I know for a fact, that even after several years, my kids still call me from their dad’s house with concerns, issues, needing money, etc. and there tends to be a bit of overlap. Plus, we might get calls from the school or need to arrange doctor’s … Continue reading →

Preparing for Nights Away

I have written a little about single parents and travel, focusing on how we can make decisions around trips for work and play. Recently, another parent asked about how to make preparations in advance that will make those nights away more pleasant and smooth for the child and I realized this would be an important blog topic. For many of our children, the days go by relatively easily, but it is the nights that are the toughest when mom or dad has to be away. My children are all teenagers and I did not start traveling for business until recently, … Continue reading →

Parenting when You’re Away from Your Kids

This is not going to be an article about parenting from afar, but I have been thinking about the work and the things I do as a parent and for my kids when I am not with them. We tend to think of parenting and “parenting time” as the time we are actually correcting, talking to, disciplining, or caring for our children directly. But I do think that the time we spend away from them—preparing, working on issues, solving problems, etc. is just as important. You might even say that the more effort put into the non-parenting parenting, the more … Continue reading →

Can You Look at Things Objectively Yet?

Objectivity does not come naturally or easily for many of us. It can take time and personal work before we are able to look at something traumatic that has happened and see it from an objective perspective. For those of us who have become single parents through a separation, divorce, or death—the emotions and subjectivity can be so strong and compelling, that it takes a while before we can get to a more objective place. Objectivity is key to recovery and being able to get on with our lives, however. Are you still harboring blame for your ex-spouse or others … Continue reading →

When Parents Are Divided by More Than a Few Miles

My children each have a few friends whose divorced families are divided by cities and states—the child lives with one parent for most of the year and then goes to visit the noncustodial parent for holidays and vacations. I often write about co-parenting as though parents live in the same town since that is my experience, but I know that plenty of families are divided by more than a few streets or miles. I think it takes extra effort for parents to stay cooperative on child issues when there is some distance between you. Divorced, separated, or never partnered parents … Continue reading →