Parenting - Single Parents

Programs:

Learn parenting tips by attending one or more of Extension's parenting classes:

• Family Focus:
  • Parenting the Young Child,
  • Parenting the School Age Child, or
  • Parenting the Adolescent

1. I recently divorced and have custody of my 2 children. I'm having a much harder time disciplining them than I did when I was married. Why am I having so much trouble?
   
   ANS: Research shows that, in general, single parents have more stress in their lives. Stress is related to budgeting, meeting children's needs, workload, balancing a social life with work and home responsibilities, and/or maintaining a relationship with an ex-spouse or former partner. Because of the stress, single parents often have more difficulty disciplining their children. Often, they don't have the time, or take the time, to think about how to best discipline. They may have unrealistic rules for their children, or they don't consistently enforce rules. This may be happening to you.
   
   
2. Can you give me some discipline tips? I'm a single mom and I'm having a lot of trouble disciplining my kids.
   
   ANS: First, realize that your children's misbehavior is contributing to your stress. Taking time to discipline your children will help both you and your children. Here are some tips:
   
   
   1. Decide what is important to you regarding your children's behavior. Remember, rules are usually designed to keep people and animals emotionally and physically safe and to protect property.
      
      
   2. Talk to your children about what's important to you, and why it's important.
      
      
   3. Set rules, and the consequences for not obeying the rules, with your children. For example, if you have a preschool child, you might decide together that when she is done playing, she comes to you and the two of you work together to put the toys away so no-one falls over them and gets hurt. If the rule isn't followed, she can't play with those toys the next day. Children and teens are much more likely to obey rules and consequences if they've been involved in setting them.
      
      
3. I've been a single parent for 4 months. I'd like to start dating again. Do you think it's too soon?
   
   ANS: People often feel lonely after loosing a spouse. They try to fill this loneliness by getting romantically involved with someone. However, research shows that it's important for people to become emotionally and psychologically strong following a loss before starting to date. They do this by developing friendships. Through friendships, single parents develop a sense of stability, belonging, independence, and positive self-esteem. They set goals for themselves and their families. Once they have a sense of self and know who they are, single parents are much more likely to enter a healthy romantic relationship.

• Single Parenting - Building Strong Families
• Single Parenting - Common Questions Single Parents Ask
• Single Parenting - Communicating Within Your Family
• Single Parenting - Custody Issues Today
• Single Parenting - Dating Issues When You Have Children
• Single Parenting - Disciplining Children
• Single Parenting - Friendship and Support
• Single Parenting - Helping Children Cope With Death
• Single Parenting - Help! I Feel Overwhelmed!
• Single Parenting - Loss of A Partner
• Single Parenting - Loss of A Relationship
• Single Parenting - Not Enough Hours In The Day?
• Single Parenting - Sharing Parenting After Divorce
• Single Parenting - You Are A Family
  
  

• Stepfamily Association of America