Single Parenting - Challenges And Obstacles

Giving birth and raising a child is a challenge because there comes multiple responsibilities that parents have to handle together. From feeding the child, to changing diapers, to putting the child to sleep to looking after the best kind of education given to your child, parents ensure the best for their little one.

Even as a team parents find it hard to raise a child so it is beyond our imagination to think the kind of challenges faced by a single parent. In the case of both the parents, the responsibilities get divided but in case of a single parent, all the responsibility falls up on himself/herself. Single parenting has its own share of fun and challenges. So let us look up on some of the challenges or obstacles faced by a single parent while raising a child.

Challenges for Single Parenting(Mother/Father)

These are some common challenges that a single parent confronts whilst handling a child alone. Since you will be doing most of the tasks alone, you can have your child giving you a helping hand which will also allow you to spend some quality time with him/her every day. Be it washing the dishes or setting the table for dinner, let your child help you so you can get to catch up with him/her regularly. Weekends can be spent with your child by going to a restaurant or a movie or even a park once you have completed all your chores for the day. You need not feel guilty about being alone since single parenting is a matter of fate. Read: Single Parenting Advices, Tips

Disadvantages/Obstacles for Single Parents - Difficulties to Keep Schedule

#1 Heap of Responsibilities

Since a single parent is bounded by heaps of responsibilities of the family as well as the child, he/she has to juggle between a lot of tasks. This makes it tough for the parent to manage the child’s schedule, let alone his/her schedule to be kept on tracks.

#2 Balancing Time:

This is another issue faced by a single parent who has to manage responsibilities at work and come back home to manage a fair share of responsibilities of the child and household chores. Looking after the child’s needs, managing the chores and giving enough time to the child becomes a tough task altogether for the parent.

#3 Financial Burden:

A single parent cannot even think about staying at home and looking after the child. Since finances have to be managed well in order to ensure a better future for the child, work comes first for a single parent who also has to juggle between all sorts of responsibilities alone. This challenge magnifies if you are not financially well off. So being constant at work will assure you a well financial state that will help you in securing your child’s future.

#4 Disciplining a Child:

Disciplining a child is essential and it becomes tough if you have no partner to support you in the same. Since a child can give a hard time to both the parents, it becomes even more tough to handle the tantrums all alone. Being firm with your child and equally giving love and affection is the right way to discipline a child. You must not let your child rule over you with silly tantrum which is why you must have a firm say while making decisions regarding your child.

#5 Finding a Baby Sitter:

If your child is not old enough and requires a baby sitter in your absence, it is hard to find a reliable one. It is hard to trust an unknown person in regards to your child’s safety since you will be at work all day long. You will be in constant stress whether or not your child has eaten properly or how well is the baby sitter taking care of your child. With so much stress and responsibility to handle alone, this will become an added tension to confront.

#6 Less Quality Time for Your Child:

Since your life will be about juggling between your work and home along with responsibilities of your child, you will find very little time to spend with your child. While your entire week will be consumed working at the office, your weekend will be full with managing extra household chores like cleaning or doing laundry, with very little or no time left to concentrate on your child. This at times also raises a feeling of guilt within you of not having time to give your child.

#7 Challenge of Playing Two Roles:

As a single parent, he/she is expected to play both the roles of a mother and a father to the child. In case of a single mother, she also has to be a father figure to her child whereas in case a single father, he has to be mother figure for the child so that the child doesn’t feel lack of love. This is a really challenging part in the life of a single parent who has to don both the roles to provide utmost love and affection to the child.

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