Why go to a Single Parents Support Group

by Michele Thorne | More from this Blogger

28 Aug 2007 07:51 AM

Why would I need a support group? I don't need support. I don't need camaraderie, I have friends. I don't need anymore advice, I have family. I don't need friends, I already have a few. I don't need another night booked, I don't have enough time as it is. Do any of these excuses sound familiar to you? Maybe you even have even come up with a few that I don't have listed. As I've said before, having a support network is very important to a single parent. Whether or not you have friends or family, or you already have a strong support network, every single parent could benefit from more people added to that.

Every person on the face of the earth could do with more friends. Just like every person in your support network plays a different role, every friend in life plays a different role. You may actually be surprised at how close of friends some of the people in a support group can become. Why? Because in a support group, you have a group of people, all of which are in very similar situations. All of them may be there for different reasons, but they are all coming from basically the same place.

I always go to my family and close friends when I need advice, and I always will. I listen to everyone's opinions, and their reasons behind the opinions, than make my decision. The odd thing is, my mom, my brother Leon, and I are the only single parents in the family. My one sister was for a little while though not for long, and might as well have been for a little while even though she was married. None of them have been for any length of time though. My brother Leon only became a single dad with in the last year when he adopted a 15 year old, so he doesn't have too much experience either. So, when I ask for advice from family and friends, they give me their honest opinion as they see it. They tell me what they think is best and why, but they can't necessarily understand the situation as a whole. They can try to see it from my point of view, they can try to understand where I am coming from, but sometimes they can't even come close. When you have a single parent support group, you have several people who can look at things objectively. The advice they give isn't marred by how my decision may or may not have an effect on them. They also know and understand where I am coming from, and may have even been in the same situation in the past. Their experience can be of great value.

Now, I know from experience that a single parent's life is busy and hectic. I know it can be hard to work in another night where you have to be somewhere and do something. Would it be worth going to a meeting one night a week if it could actually free up a lot time for you in other areas. That's one of the benefits of a single parents support group. You are constantly getting ideas, advice, and even information that can help you in all areas of your life. Ideas from how to make your visitation transfer go more smoothly, to how to save some time and/or money on your next grocery trip. You could get some new information on child support that you had been looking for, or get the name of an insurance company that you can afford.

Wouldn't it be worth freeing one night a week to go to a single parents support group for all the benefits you receive from it? Do you already go to one and would like to share some of the ways it has benefited you? Please feel free to leave a comment below.

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Learn more about Michele Thorne

Michele Thorne is an all purpose person. She is a full time single mom (her son's father is not involved in his life in any way, shape, or form) caring for her son Jonathan.

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