Trying to keep your child’s routine on track, doing your household chores and managing work becomes difficult as a parent. And if you’re a single parent, it can sometimes get overwhelming and stressful for you as you manage to do everything without your partner. There can be many reasons as to why you’re raising a child on your own. It can be because of a divorce, death or personal choice. Regardless of what your reason is, parenting can still be an incredible journey for you. After all, we do reckon that it isn’t a one-size-fits-all sort of a thing. Here are some of our tips on being a single parent that’ll strengthen your relationship with your child.
Listen To Your Child
Being a single parent, managing your home, and raising a child can get difficult for you. But don’t forget that it’s also difficult for your child to be raised by a single parent. That’s why one of the best ways to build a good relationship with your child is through communication. One of the main tips on being a single parent is to have good communication with your child. It’s important that you take some time out of your day to communicate with your child and ask them about how they spend their day.
Having open communication with your child can help you in your journey of being a single parent.
Regardless of how young or old your child is, communication will help strengthen your bond together. So even when your child makes a mistake, see to it that you first listen to your child rather than getting frustrated with them. As a single parent, you need to be patient and learn to respond to a situation instead of reacting to it. Listening to your child will make them feel loved and respected. It will also help them be at ease especially during difficult times.
Stick To A Routine And Be Organized
Routines are one of the most effective ways to make your life easy and manageable. And if you have a younger child, it’ll help you keep a track of their feeding and sleeping schedules. You can make a routine calendar that includes things like meal times, school time, playtime, bedtime, and chores. It’s a great way of getting your child accustomed to doing different activities on time.
Once your child gets comfortable with the routine, you can start adding new things to your routine calendar. That can include learning a new sport or musical instrument, meeting friends and relatives, watching a movie on weekends, etc. Routines will not only help you with getting done with your child’s homework and study on time but also help your child become more organized and independent.
Set Realistic Goals
Not always will things go the way you have planned them to be, even when you try to follow a routine. Challenges are bound to happen, and it can get more difficult for a single parent. So don’t expect that your experiences will be similar to other families who have both parents raising the child. It’s okay if you’ve not been able to wash the dishes at night or clean your home on a weekend. As a single parent, you need to take a break and just tell yourself that you’re doing great.
You need to set realistic goals for yourself. That’s why it’s best to have a routine that both you and your child can follow. Depending on your as well as your child’s needs, you can plan your finances for the month, meal times and other important things. Don’t be too hard on yourself or your child if you aren’t able to do things as per your routine calendar. Know that with time, you and your child will both learn to do things on time. All it takes is a little patience and realistic long and short-term goals that you set for yourself.
Discipline Your Child
Many single parents tend to overindulge their children thinking that they’re making up for their partner. In simple words, pampering your child a lot can make them more dependent on you and slow down their developmental process. That’s why it’s important that you start disciplining your child from an early age. One way of doing that is having them follow a routine throughout the day.
As a single parent, you’ll have the natural tendency to do every small or big task for your child. But you need to be mindful of not doing everything for your child. The best way of disciplining your child is by involving them in different chores. You can ask them to help you in the kitchen by giving simple tasks like washing their own plate, setting up the dining table, etc. In case you’re a working parent and have a caretaker to babysit or look after your child, you need to give them clear instructions too. Make sure that your child’s caretaker too, helps you in disciplining your child by involving them in simple household activities.
Build New Family Traditions
As mentioned earlier, even children find it difficult being raised by a single parent. Sometimes you may not be able to give enough time and attention to your child which could make them sad and lonely. To keep this from happening, you can also involve your child in building new family traditions. That way you can cheer up your child and have a fun bonding time together.
One of the best ways of building new family traditions is getting your child to look forward to something. You can host parties on special occasions like birthdays and festivals, and invite your friends and relatives over. Even simple things like having a movie night every week or going for a walk every weekend will make your child happy. It will also improve your relationship with them.
Connect With Other Single Parents
As you juggle through your chores, work, and child’s responsibilities, it can get stressful and you might feel alone. But remember that there are many single parents out there who’re feeling the same. Getting to know other single parents just like you will help you feel at ease and motivate you to keep going. After all, there’s nothing better than bonding with like-minded people, sharing experiences, and learning from each other.
You can befriend other single parents in your child’s school by attending PTA meetings, going for your child’s extra-curricular activities, etc. Otherwise, you can get to know other single parents in your neighborhood or locality. If not that, there are tons of apps for parents wherein you can join a community and make new friends.
Taking things one at a time and focusing on building a bond with your child are important tips on being a single parent.
Conclusion
Raising a child on your own can be really challenging. It’s important that you have a healthy relationship with your child as that will make them feel safe and secure. Don’t let others make you feel that a single parent will find it difficult to raise a child. Parenting in the 21st century is challenging in its own way. If you’ve read our tips on being a single parent, we’re sure you’ll raise a happy child. To make your life easier, our ImmunifyMe app lets you keep digitized records of your child’s vaccination. So you no longer have to worry about misplacing them as they’ll be readily available whenever you need them.
FAQs On Tips On Being A Single Parent
What Are The Struggles Of A Single Parent?
Single parents often struggle with a lack of social support. Other than that, financial expenses, household responsibilities, managing work-life, sticking to a routine, etc. are things that most single parents struggle with.
Is Being A Single Parent Easier?
The life of a single parent is not that easy as they have to take care of so many responsibilities by themselves. Right from doing the household chores, taking care of their child’s meal and sleeping times to managing finances, there are tons of responsibilities. That being said, it can get easier with patience. Single parents can also involve their children in different activities thereby strengthening their bond.
What Is The Hardest Part Of Being A Single Parent?
The hardest part of being a single parent can be different for different people. For some, it can be managing the household and work-life together. For a few, it will be meeting financial expenses while for others it can be battling loneliness and lack of social support.
