- Introduction
- Spending money the "Right way"
- Earning extra cash by investing more time
- Saving money on your yourself
- Best Beauty Buys
- Saving money on your kids
- Brilliant links for free stuff
- Baby and kid stuff for sale
- Crafting for yourself & with your kids
- Help and support for single parents
- Parenting Problems
- Parenting Problems - 2
- Getting back into the job market
- Court Procedures and how to handle it
- My single Mummy blog
- Feedback
- Forum
Dealing with actually raising a child alone
Raising a child is difficult for anyone. I do think that it's actually the hardest job that there is. There are times that I feel lonely, frustrated, angry, in fact many emotions that would be boring to list here!!
What can we do about it?
I am actually about 25 miles from my nearest relatives (elderly grand-parents) and over 1000 miles from my own parents. No Dad around and therefore no side of his family either. Oh and I had my son in another country and have only been back in the UK a few years.
What can we do about it?
I am actually about 25 miles from my nearest relatives (elderly grand-parents) and over 1000 miles from my own parents. No Dad around and therefore no side of his family either. Oh and I had my son in another country and have only been back in the UK a few years.
Childcare and Working
Work is probably where we get away from the stresses and strains of the daily grind of being a parent. If you're a working parent you know what I mean. It creates a format to your day, a routine. This is good for the mind, your wallet and your child. It promotes good self-esteem and provides a good role model for your children. HOWEVER! With the rising costs of childcare here is a great little tool I found that helps you to calculate what you will have left after paying for daily life. Just click the link and fill in the budget calculator Childcare costs calculator
Asking for help!
When I first became a parent it was a big blur of breastfeeding, no sleep, crying and worry. Not to mention the poop and nappies!! Fortunately my son was well and healthy. One scare with suspected meningitis at 9 weeks and that was the end of my relationship. I will never say anything bad about my son's Father but that is a subject I will come on to later.
I found the best way to get help was to actually get out there and ask for support. Firstly I used Netmums to find friends that were local. Organised play dates in Softplay and tried to find local playgroups by searching on the same website.
The next thing I did was find my local Surestart Centre I called and asked what help I could be given and within a few weeks (this was over Christmas I had 3 visits from the Outreach workers who signed me up to "Stay and Play" plus a Parenting Programme. Through that I met some great friends and we have our own little Facebook group now, offering each other support and meeting up once a month. Advice from people who have been there & done it is worth so much.
I found the best way to get help was to actually get out there and ask for support. Firstly I used Netmums to find friends that were local. Organised play dates in Softplay and tried to find local playgroups by searching on the same website.
The next thing I did was find my local Surestart Centre I called and asked what help I could be given and within a few weeks (this was over Christmas I had 3 visits from the Outreach workers who signed me up to "Stay and Play" plus a Parenting Programme. Through that I met some great friends and we have our own little Facebook group now, offering each other support and meeting up once a month. Advice from people who have been there & done it is worth so much.
Volunteering
Finally this is something you can do when out of the job market and trying to add to your CV, do something you enjoy and get just get into a routine. Childcare is a problem, hence why I added the above. Ask friends, family, swap childcare with other Mums. It is the best way to show employers that you are committed and have on the job knowledge. Just do it is the main website for finding volunteer work that fits in with your hopes & aspirations. I now volunteer in a school which I love! When it comes to returning to the job market I do have specialist knowledge on that having worked in recruitment for many years. Check out my other page on "Returning to work".