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Evaluating Government Assistance

A huge chunk of single parents who have custody of their children do not get child support. That is a fact. Even among those who do, many do not get nearly enough to help make those ends meet. While the word “welfare” carries with it a negative connotation, there are many government assistance programs that can benefit a single parent. You may not think of things like federal financial aid for school or Head Start programs as government assistance. There may also be community or city programs that you are able to access as a single parent that don’t have … Continue reading →

Put Aside Your Pride

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As a new single parent the most overwhelming thing is finances. How are you going to support this family? Many of us were stay at home moms or only worked part time. To go from that to be solely responsible for your children is like night and day. It helps if you ex is good about paying child support but unfortunately, for many reasons, many ex’s aren’t always current on their support so you can’t really count on it. The first thing you need to do is figure out what you have and what you can do. If you have … Continue reading →

Facing the Lower Income=Lower Self-Esteem Issue

One of the topics that come up again and again when I talk with other single parents is the way we all seem to wrestle with the one income/lower income issue and how it affects our own self-esteem, AND how we worry that it will affect our children’s. We tend to be concerned that if we aren’t able to give our children everything that “other kids” or “other families” have; or that if we aren’t able to live in the right neighborhood, go on vacations, etc.—our children will be at a disadvantage. This can be some heavy stuff and make … Continue reading →

Watch Out for Dependency

We single parents often wrestle with feeling the need to be TOO independent—at least that is how it has been for me. I have gotten so used to being on my own that I can very easily slip into stoicism. I do NOT find it easy to ask for, or accept help. But for some single parents, just the opposite is true—it becomes so much easier to accept help and let others take care of things, that becoming overly-dependent becomes a problem. Being encouraged and feeling a part of a supportive community and family is one thing; and it is … Continue reading →