| |
| |
|
Parenting Information |
|
|
|
Surviving As A Single Parent: Seven Simple Suggestions To Make Your Life Easier
1 - Forgive even if you will never be able to Forget - Let go of grudges you may hold against your child's other parent, who is absent from BOTH of your lives. Holding onto feelings of anger will not change your situation and will probably consume a great deal of your energy - energy you need to devote to creating a positive environment for your child. If you dwell on your disappointment with and/or dislike of the father or mother of your child - chances are your child will sense your feelings and suffer in some way from your negative attitude. 2 - Make the most of everything you have - Even if you do not have a lot of money, you do have your child and your love and your time to give to him or her. Try to remember that monetary wealth and material possessions are not the most important items in your child's life. Your love, support and time together mean much more to them. You can have fun for free. Activities like - going for a walk or a bike ride, playing at the park, coloring, painting, singing, or dancing - will thrill your child just as much as spending money to go to an amusement park, an arcade or a toy store. 3 - Be the best parent you can possibly be - Give as much as you can without setting goals that are unrealistic for one parent to achieve. Don't beat yourself up for what cannot be. Do recognize what you can do to create a good life for your child to the best of your abilities. 4 - Develop a network of reliable resources - Families are not biological. Surround yourself and your child with friends you know and trust - people who care about both of you. "Aunts" and "Uncles" and even "Grandparents," who are not blood-related can be just as beneficial to your child as actual biological family members. The "family" you create for your child can provide him or her with the same kind of love and support as a traditional family. They can also help you with your responsibilities as a single parent. Let them play an active role in your child's life. Learn to turn to your "family" when you need a break. Nobody should have to go it alone and you will probably be able to be a better parent by relying on your "family" of close friends to support you and your child. 5 - Take responsibility for your life today - Remember whatever lead you to where you are today, you are responsible for another life - the innocent life of a child, who didn't ask to be born. Your child is not responsible for the experiences or events that made you become a single parent. Your child is completely dependent upon you through no choice of their own. Don't let them down or hold them accountable for your actions (or the actions of their absent parent). They are powerless and vulnerable to the possibly less-than-ideal consequences they face as the child of a single parent. Your role and influence in their life is paramount to their chances of becoming a happy, productive, successful adult. They need you more than their words will ever tell. 6 - Set up daily rituals and regular routines - Your child needs stability and security. One way to provide this is by developing a daily routine. Simple things like - going to the park every Sunday afternoon, eating dinner together each night, sharing a treat before nap time or reading a book together before bed every night, will become activities that your child looks forward to and can count on to occur with regularity. 7 - Be consistent and dependable - Create realistic rules and a standard of discipline that you stick to all the time. If you're consistent with your child, he or she will learn what is acceptable behavior and what is not. They will also learn what you expect from them and what they can expect from you. If you're dependable, they will know that they can always count on you to help them with their homework, be there for dinner or tuck them in bed at night. They have to be able to depend on you. You're the most important person in their life. Try to remember that no matter how tired you are at the end of the day or how frustrated you may become when they're fussy - They need you to be there for them. You should cherish every moment with your child - they are the best blessings on earth. Resource Box - © Danielle Hollister (2004) Danielle Hollister is the Quotations Editor at BellaOnline and Publisher of BellaOnline Quotations Zine http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8364.asp
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How Public Schools Lie to Parents and Betray Our Children Under the "No Child Left Behind Act," public schools whose students consistently fail standardized tests can now be shut down. To protect their jobs, teachers and principals are now under intense pressure to cheat - to fudge test scores and report cards to fool parents and school administrators. A Little Love, Please? Article based on a friend's experienceI just wanted to share an experience I just had with my daughters, Yee Ting and Yee Sin.Yee Ting is three years old this month while Yee Sin is only one-month old. How to Help Your Children to Blossom I am writing this from the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina in the southeastern region of the United States.It is gorgeous here in April, with trees covered in white or pink blossoms, masses of yellow forsythia in bloom and flowers of many colors bursting forth in gardens and along the roadsides. The Forgotten Secret of the Ancient Greeks that Shows Us How to Keep Our Teenagers Out of Trouble To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up (Ecclesiastes 3:1-3) Four of the boys at training tonight are preparing themselves for their first fight at our forthcoming Christians vs. Lions promotion, scheduled for only three weeks hence. "Mommy, I Can't Sleep!": Sleep Disturbance in Children Oh Please, Don't Say Maybe!!!!Are you often a participant in an unraveling parent-child interaction? Well you're not alone. Interactions between parents and their children often transgress before our eyes. Parenting Your Teenager: How to Say NO! Q: Whenever we tell my daughter "no," she just bugs and pesters until we give in. I know it's wrong to give in, but she makes things so unpleasant that we give in just to make peace. Marriage, Divorce, and Kids Are men to blame for the divorce problem in this country?It's been said that one of the reasons for the high rate of divorce in this country is the manner in which men choose their wives. Specifically, they choose their wives in a fashion similar to how they choose their next car. Communication Mistakes Parents Often Make - And Easy Ways To Correct Them As parents, we love our children and want to do the best for them. At times, however, the pressures of living every day create stress and distractions for all of us. How Is Peaceful Parenting® Different? Peaceful Parenting® ideas are very different from other kinds of parenting practices that you have learned or read about. Certainly it is harder to practice Peaceful Parenting® than to simply threaten or bribe your child into following your directions or making what you consider to be the "right" choices. The Top 5 Reasons Why Unwed-Parents Must Establish Paternity "It takes a village to raise a child" is more than an African proverb, and when the village is small and one parent is missing the task becomes even more challenging. Fortunately, being proactive and understanding your rights as a parent will help alleviate any issues that might arise as you take on the role of single parent. Awesome Dads Top Ten Communication Intentions An Awesome Dad in by no means perfect. But that itself is perfect, because imperfection allows us to really understand the personal evolution our children are going through with us. Defrazzle with Hug Therapy "Hugging is healthy: it helps the body's immunity system, it keeps you healthier, it cures depression, it reduces stress, it induces sleep, it's invigorating, it's rejuvenating, it has no unpleasant side effects, and hugging is nothing less than a miracle drug"UnknownSometimes life gets so hectic that our nerves are frazzled, our tempers are short, and we feel totally disconnected from those that are important to us.Want to know a simple way to fix that? Reach out and hug someone. Internet Dangers - Protecting Children from Internet Jeopardy Parents are in a unique position to "monitor" their children's internet activities and to observe their behavior with respect to any actions generated by the child's internet use. If children are hiding something from a parent, usually an astute parent will sense that something is askew. Potty Dolls to Accelerate Potty Training Success Sometime the most effective training tool in rapidly accelerating the rate of your child's training is a potty doll. This is drink-and-wet a doll with the internal plumbing that simulates the potty process for your child. Parenting Your Teenager: Are Sleep Overs with the Opposite Sex OK? Q. Our 17-year-old son wants us to let his girlfriend spend the night at our house in his room. 15 Ways to Help Kids Like Themselves 1. Tell me something you like about yourself? Help your child to focus on her many strengths. ADHD: Dialogue with a Non-Believer, Part Four Dear Sir, It was with some interest that I read the article What You Should Know About Attention Deficit Disorder by Edward W. after having it handed to me by a member of our church. How to Create an Attitude of Cooperation Having been a parent educator and a PBS consultant for Ready to Learn for many years, I have had the unique opportunity to work with Head Start families, Child Care Providers, and parents as well as schools, organizations, and teachers all over the world just like you.YES YOU ARE A TEACHER. ADHD: A Dialogue With a Non-Believer, part three Dear Sir, It was with some interest that I read the article What You Should Know About Attention Deficit Disorder by Edward W. after having it handed to me by a member of our church. Powerful Tips for Increasing Your Childs Self-Esteem Here is a list of ways to convey the message "You are worthwhile" to your children. This list could fill a hundred newsletters, since the ways to raise responsible, happy children are limited only by our imaginations.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
