6 Ways to Stay Strong as a Single Parent Family

Here are six ways to stay strong as a single parent family and be happy, healthy, and thriving.

Moms Crushing It with CanCan Quick Steps

Here are six strategies that you can use to make your life as a single parent easier and more fulfilling:

1. Create a Strong Support System
2. Get and Stay Organized
3. Live in the Present
4. Treat Yourself Well
5. Pay Attention to your Health
6. Keep a Journal

You Can Do This!

As a single parent, everything takes twice as long to prepare, enforce, and do. Take your new situation as an opportunity to make a fresh start in your life.

Tip 1: Create a Strong Support System

Parents are encouraged to find a network of friends and family that they can lean on when they need to carpool, find a babysitter in a pinch, or vent and let off a little steam during one of those tough parenting days.

But for single parents, having a strong support system is even more vital. If you have any other single-parent friends you can connect with, do so.  They can understand better than anyone the challenges you face doing things without a partner on a regular basis.

Now is the time to start thinking about who can help you out if you’re in a jam. For example, who would pick up your child from an after-school activity if you’re delayed at work? 

Think about friends, grandparents and ex-inlaws, neighbors, coworkers, or people from your faith-based community that you could ask in advance.

If your child is old enough to understand that friends and family might need to help out occasionally, make sure he knows who is included in this network for his piece of mind as well.

Tip 2: Get and Stay Organized

Start with creating systems for planning your grocery shopping and meal preparation in advance, setting up bedtime, school, and chore routines, and getting things ready for work and school the night before so you’re not frazzled getting out the door in the morning.

Tip 3: Live in the Present

Enjoy the “here and now” and focus on what you can share together each day. Smile and laugh together as much as possible. Happy music in the background brightens the mood.

Try to make even mundane routines fun by having your child take an active role in helping you.

Have your five-year-old help you sort the laundry by color and sing silly rhymes as you do so.

 Let your eight-year-old scramble the eggs in the bowl with you while you make breakfast and pretend you’re working in a restaurant.

Put on upbeat music and have quick tidy sessions in a room. Sing, dance, and laugh while picking up the floor, making a bed, or wiping down cabinets in the kitchen or bathroom sink and tub.

Your child will feel like a helper, and you get to spend more fun time together while still keeping your home clean and organized.

For more fun at dinner time, check out CanCan Mom’s free Happy Hour Printable.

Tip 4: Treat Yourself Well

It may sound corny, but perhaps the single most important thing you can do to be a better parent, succeed in your career, and maintain your health and your relationships is to practice self-care. 

There are countless ways you can do this. Become consistent in finding ways to appreciate yourself on a regular basis—you will not only become happier and more content with life, but you will also be setting an excellent example for your kids.

Here are some suggestions:

•        Find one aspect of your body you appreciate. Maybe you’ve always loved your thick, wavy hair. Next time you are getting ready to go out, smile when you fix your hair and remind yourself you are beautiful today.

•        Eliminate negative mind chatter. We all get caught in the trap of listening to ourselves talk negatively about what might be going on in our life. A recently divorced friend of mine calls this mind chatter. When she was going through the divorce process, she admits that she would fall apart and cry not because she was listening to her own inner voice tell her everything that was wrong in her present life. Once she started catching herself getting carried away with a negative thought, she’d immediately tell herself, “That’s mind chatter,” and move on to a better thought.  A year later, she has perfected this technique and has cut her mind chatter down to nearly nothing!

Tip 5: Pay Attention to Your Health

Single parents tend to burn the candle at both ends because they have to do nearly everything for their families themselves. It may sound simple enough, but eating properly, getting enough exercise, rest, and regular respite from your constant parental duties are imperative so that you can be alive and well to care for your family. 

Another piece of advice: keep up-to-date with your own doctor and dental check-ups. Don’t put yourself last when it comes to preventive care—your family needs you!

Tip 6: Keep a Journal

Journaling can be a very therapeutic way to release unsettled emotions, vent pent-up frustrations, or work through a troubling issue so you can release the negative energy that is bottled up inside of you. 

In addition, it’s also an excellent way to remind yourself of all the great things in your life. At the end of each day, list five things you are grateful for to keep the focus on the positives in your life. I keep a written journal as well as an online one. You can journal for free on Penzu.com.

It’s a healthy way for single parents to let go of what’s brewing inside before you blow a fuse and take it out on someone you love.

You might also enjoy How to Stop Stressing and Start Thriving as a Single Mom.

How do you hold things together when you’re running your household solo? Share your thoughts and ideas in the comment selection below or email me at thecancanmom@gmail.com. You can also visit me on Instagram at CanCanMomCB or at Pinterest at theCanCanMom.