When Our Kids Feel Jealous or Hate Our Jobs

While the “job jealousy” issue is not the private domain of single parent families, I have found in my experience that many of us single parents do have to contend with our children seeing our work or jobs as being in direct opposition to them. After all, many of our children learn quite young that what “takes us away” from them and home is our work. As single parents, how can we foster an understanding, appreciation, or at least a “truce” with our children when it comes to our jobs? When I first became a single parent and my children … Continue reading

Considering a Relocation for Work and Opportunity

I have written before about how challenging it can be for a single parent to balance work and family obligations and ambition. We want to do what is best for our selves and our families and it can be tough to figure out what comes first and how to fit everything in. Many single parents eventually face the challenging issue of deciding whether or not to move or relocate to take a better job, go to school, or make other major life changes. For a single parent who might have custody realities to contend with, as well as trying to … Continue reading

Balancing Security and Ambition for the Single Parent

I think many of us walk a tightrope between clinging to and working for the security of ourselves and our families, and indulging our ambitions and taking those big risks. For a single parent, that tightrope can feel even more precarious—do we focus JUST on establishing and maintaining security for our families, or do we stretch ourselves and give in to our personal or work-related ambitions? And, what if we don’t think we ARE very ambitious—is this a personality failing that will hurt our families in the long run? I confess that trying to establish some security for my family … Continue reading