- 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
Looking after yourself!
Quite simply if you do not deal with the stresses and tensions in your own life then it can be easy to take them out on a child. Children don't need stressed parents!!
Maybe a first step is to settle for being - wait for it - A less than perfect parent" - say no to guilt! Ok easier said than done. As a single parent you simply cannot do all that you would like to do. It may help to decide what is essential & what can be left out or postponed. Ask for help when you need it - taking turns looking after friends kids, getting Grandparents or other family members involved . Try to spend some time doing things on your own. a relaxing bath, listening to music (I listen to Audio books on Iplayer in bed to relax), reading, focusing on breathing (breath in for 5, breath out for 10). If you have a smart phone there are app's to help you relax.
In you local area there may be an exercise class especially for Mum's involving pushchairs like my friends Buggyboostcamp Try it out!
If you are in a couple then a woman may find all of her needs for touch and cuddles met by baby. Partner is left out. Maybe create a weekly date night. I won't dwell on this as I am dedicating the site to single parents but all are welcome here.
To sum up - children love to be noticed, from maybe 1 year old they discover misbehaviour gets attention or they can control situations. Not conscious or deliberate but bad attention is better than none. Misbehaviour needs an audience! See what misbehaviours you can ignore, no talking, looking or touching, unless your child is going to hurt themselves or others. If possible leave the room many parents tend to under-use the power of silence.
This doesn't mean accepting misbehaviour and doing nothing about it
Maybe a first step is to settle for being - wait for it - A less than perfect parent" - say no to guilt! Ok easier said than done. As a single parent you simply cannot do all that you would like to do. It may help to decide what is essential & what can be left out or postponed. Ask for help when you need it - taking turns looking after friends kids, getting Grandparents or other family members involved . Try to spend some time doing things on your own. a relaxing bath, listening to music (I listen to Audio books on Iplayer in bed to relax), reading, focusing on breathing (breath in for 5, breath out for 10). If you have a smart phone there are app's to help you relax.
In you local area there may be an exercise class especially for Mum's involving pushchairs like my friends Buggyboostcamp Try it out!
If you are in a couple then a woman may find all of her needs for touch and cuddles met by baby. Partner is left out. Maybe create a weekly date night. I won't dwell on this as I am dedicating the site to single parents but all are welcome here.
To sum up - children love to be noticed, from maybe 1 year old they discover misbehaviour gets attention or they can control situations. Not conscious or deliberate but bad attention is better than none. Misbehaviour needs an audience! See what misbehaviours you can ignore, no talking, looking or touching, unless your child is going to hurt themselves or others. If possible leave the room many parents tend to under-use the power of silence.
This doesn't mean accepting misbehaviour and doing nothing about it