5 Tips For Single Parent To Be Strong And Always Ready To Take On Obligations

Illustration of tips for single parents (Unsplash/Sai de Silva)

JAKARTA – Separation or other reasons that make someone a single parent take a while to adapt. But there is no need to linger in an unpleasant situation for too long. Strive to become a strong and tough single parent must be done immediately.

Reported by Bonobology, Tuesday, November 9, according to the United Nations report for 2019-2020 in 89 countries in the world there are 101.3 million households with single mothers living with their children. Although there are also single fathers, a total of 80 single parents are women.

So what can single parents do to be strong, tough, and always ready to carry out their obligations? Here are the tips.

1. Fully contribute to the child

It's not hard to contribute to domestic problems for single parents. Although initially not as easy as imagined, collaborating with children is the right way.

If the child has started to be independent, teach him to take care of his needs at home independently. So that the responsibilities of home affairs, can be done together with the children. If it's difficult, you can ask for help from relatives or closest people, especially when it comes to dividing your time with work.

2. Save and save

Financial sources for single parents certainly cannot rely on anyone except for their own efforts. That means, need to manage money properly and take into account saving for unexpected needs or long-term needs.

3. Try to have a social network

Being a single parent doesn't mean being alone without having a social network. You can establish close relationships with friends and relatives so that you have a meaningful support system. To tie up social networks, involve children in these social relationships so that children also have friends to play with and enjoy being friendly with your network.

4. Create boundaries

It is possible for a single parent to have a new love affair. It is also possible to establish relationships with new people. So, it is important to set boundaries, especially boundaries with your children.

Explain about limits or what can and cannot be done with children. Also make healthy boundaries so that obligations can still be carried out without being burdensome.

In addition, as a single parent you need to respect privacy. Neither your own privacy nor bonding with children. It is undeniable that you have a private life outside of your home, meaning that privacy needs to be respected. Privacy also includes procedures, such as knocking on doors and checking devices.

5. Supervise children and have an agreed schedule

Supervision of children is one of the obligations of a single parent. You can track who your child is meeting online and in real life. Including with whom and how children interact with their peers.

As for the schedule, the role of parents can function properly if it is scheduled. For example, a schedule between work and with children certainly needs to be agreed upon and carried out with discipline.

The last tip, single parents don't need to feel guilty when they don't spend enough time with their children because they have to work. In fact, many single mothers feel more guilty for allowing their children to grow up without a father figure. As a result, the more you try to get things going the more you feel guilty and feel like a failure.

Being a single parent who is strong and always ready to carry out obligations is not being a superhero but 'just' needs to behave appropriately.