According to statistics, there is a steady increase in a family run by a single parent. From the 1970s to 2000s, the number jumped to as much as 37%. It is a sad reality. It is caused by a multitude of reasons like divorce and death. In the US alone, there are about 13.6 million single parents. Around one-third of children have a single parent.
Raising a kid or two with a complete set of parents is difficult already, what more when there is only an I in the team. A USDA report in 2018 stated that the cost of childcare is about $15,000 per year. The average income of one person in the country is about $44,564. Childcare appears to amass almost 40% of an average income. What about bills, food, and housing? And yet we are only talking about the financial matter.
Being a parent means more than just providing the basic needs of a child like food and shelter. It also demands emotional support, medical needs and of course time and love. But when you are a single parent, you may be struggling with some or all of those.
As a parent, you would do anything, anything just for your kid to have what they need and provide their wants. To offer a little help, here are some tips for raising a child as a single parent.
Follow A Routine
Establishing a routine is a great way to create a sense of familiarity, discipline, and consistency throughout a day’s activity. This can somehow, not bulletproof, give you a form of security in terms of household chores. Not only does it alleviates potential stress from you, but it also gives you more time to focus on other important tasks at hand.
Set Limits
This goes hand in hand with routine, limitations should be established in order for kids to learn discipline and proper conduct. Create a list of house rules, responsibilities, and expectations for them to follow. This will work as a limit for them as well since they will know the things they can do and not do.
Lean On Positivity
There are a lot of stereotypes for single parents and how their kids turn out to be, but they are simply not true and are nothing but a stereotype. Lead on positivity and stay away from people and situations that attract negativity. They won’t be of help anyway. Rather, you need to understand that single parenting does pose some challenges, but so does two-parent families.
It is a matter of parenting style and what works for you and your kids. Show your kids how to interact properly with people without prejudice and never display negative actions or remorse towards your ex.This will prevent them from getting in negative vibes and which may affect their mental development and social skills.
Take Care of Yourself
The kids heavily depend on you, and whatever happens to you will directly affect them. And so it is important that you take care of yourself at all cost. Of course, you prioritize your kids before anyone or anything else but essentially you can’t do a great job if you are in poor health. To better perform your duties as a father or mother, you need to think about your wellbeing.
Eating healthy, getting enough sleep and exercising are the simplest form of taking care of yourself. In addition, it displays a great example to your kids on how to live a healthy lifestyle.
Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Help
No matter how much you prepared yourself for the responsibilities between childcare and work, there will come a time when you need help and don’t hesitate to ask for some. As a single parent, you need a support system that can aid you in times of need. It can be your parents, relatives, close friends, neighbor or even your co-worker.
