Being a single parent is definitely challenging, as is parenting in general. But there are some challenges that make the experience even more difficult.

As a single parent blogger, I’ve come across plenty of other single parents throughout the years and we’ve all experienced some of the same challenges that have connected us in ways that parents with spouses or partners don’t really understand.

Here are some of the top challenges of being a single parent (specifically a single mom as in my case):

1. Having No One To Tag In

When you have a spouse, you can usually leave the kids with them and take off to another room or out for some fresh air and come back refreshed. That’s not the case when you’re a single parent. There’s no one to tag in when you’re tired or have other things to do. You have to figure out babysitting of some sort and figure out how to budget that in for the month.

2. Self-Doubt Is Always Troubling You

Children don’t come with instruction books so you’re navigating the entire experience alone, which can cause self-doubt to creep up on you every day (even several times a day). You always wonder if you are enough and if you’re making the right choices for your children.

 

3. Making Decisions Solo

When self-doubt creeps up, you need to put it back in its place in order to make the right decisions for your children because you’re the only one around to do so. Decision-making is hard enough for yourself, but now you have to do it for your children, with no one else around to help you figure out what is best for them.

4. Missing The Kids When They’re With Their Other Parent

In some parenting cases, you’ll have custody of your children some days or weekends and then have to trade off with your ex. On days you don’t have them, you feel empty inside and almost as if you don’t know what to do with yourself. Sure, you get in some “me time,” but sooner than later you start to miss your kids like crazy. Each visit never gets easier, either.

5. Stress And Anxiety About Money

When you’re the sole provider for your kids, money is always on your mind. You worry about giving your kids the world and being able to pay the bills. It’s hard when you have no one else to rely on, which means ongoing financial stress that doesn’t ever stop.

6. Accepting A Different Family Situation Than You Originally Wanted

No one really wants to be a single parent, but it happens. It’s not easy to accept your solo parenting situation and the fact that you have a different family that you planned to have. That doesn’t mean you can’t have it all because someday that can happen. But for the here and now, it’s a dream you sometimes miss out on and it can really bring you down if you let it.

7. Losing a Sense of Self

Being a solo parent means you’re always giving your kids 100% of yourself all the time. There’s not much time for you or the things you like to do so there’s a huge loss of self. Of course, life can get chaotic where you don’t even stop to think about it, but when you do, you feel remorse for the person you used to be and the fact that you don’t have time anymore to engage in things that you loved because you’re on parent mode 24/7.

 

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