Parenting is tough and being a single parent is tougher especially if you are a mother. Even under regular circumstances where both the parents are living together, the parenting duties are mostly dominated taken care of by the mother. Imagine in case of a single mother where they are already dealing with the parenting pressures, there are additional issues to be taken care of which were otherwise father’s responsibilities. Single mothers struggle at so many levels everyday but unfortunately, the society tend to trivialize their problems so much so that they themselves do not consider it as a problem anymore. However, the problems need to be acknowledged and addressed for the sake of the mental wellbeing of a mother. Here are 7 toughest problems that most single moms struggle with.
- Financial Burden
When both parents are living together, the financial burden is shared between both the parents. This also makes each of the two parents more available for the child. With one parent gone, a mother has to take care of double financial strains along with the parental duties that she is already taking care of. In most cases mothers are working two jobs to make ends meet and end up giving less time to their children.
- Lack of Socialization
A single mom has so much on her plate that she barely gets time for her own self, let alone taking out time to socialize. As a result most single moms end up getting socially isolated and start to lose their confidence and esteem. Many times they even feel unwanted or unwelcomed when they are in a social setting and this result in problems such as anxiety and depression.
- Custody Issues
You are already trying to overcome an emotional breakup and the legal tussle regarding the custody of the children can only make matters worse. Court proceedings and legal battles especially when they involve relationships that matter to you can be mentally and emotionally taxing. The financial strain of these legal battles is another story altogether. A child can be very sensitive about these issues so it is important for mothers to keep their calm and support the child to deal with the baggage of seeing his parents breaking apart.
- Lifestyle Changes
When you are struggling with a financial crunch among other things, you need to cut down on your expenses. This might mean an overall lifestyle change. It can heart breaking for a mother to explain a child why she cannot get him a subway for lunch anymore.
- Companionship
Companionship is something a single mom might need the most. Unfortunately, many single mom blog do not even talk about dating or companionship as a problem faced by single moms. This is partly because of social stigmas attached to single moms dating other partners. Most single mothers are reluctant to give romance another chance because they are scared of the society’s judgmental attitudes and are nervous about dating someone. They are confused about how their child or their ex-partner will react towards her new romantic partner. However, the need for companionship is natural and needs to be addressed.
I have been a single parent almost my whole life of being a parent so I know these struggles to be true. My daughter recently split with her husband and is refiguring out her life as a single Mom. It is not easy but its doable.
I’m sooo glad our family wasn’t a divorced home. Some people do, but many do not, know how much a divorce is going to impact them and their children in all these areas above, both short-term and long-term.