Negative Effects Of Single Parenting (mothers)

Being a single parent is not always perfect, and there are negative effects too. From a family with two parents, your children will now suddenly be in a situation where they only have any one parent to take care of them and love them. Here are some of the negative effects of single parenthood on children:

1. Your Children May Feel You Are Always Short On Money:

As a single parent, making the transition from a double income family to a single income family can be quite a hard-hitting situation for your children to be in. If you have not agreed to be in a financial settlement with your ex, chances are that there will be a lot of struggle at least in the first few years when you try to provide for all the expenses on your own.

The sudden change in finances also means that your children suddenly have to face a change in their earlier lifestyle that they may have been used to. It also means that your children may be in a situation where you are not able to meet their demands. Some children can be adapt to such situations better than others while some children can often feel humiliated and resentful towards one or both the parents.
If your children see their friends buying some new fun things that are the current rage, they may ask you for the same too. While you try to take care of all their needs, it is possible that you do not have enough money to spend on these excesses right away. Such compromise is necessary for the first few years after you have become a single parent, but your child may find it difficult to understand.

2. Your Children May Crave For Your Time:

As a single parent, you have too many responsibilities to take care of, and you are also trying to provide for them. It means that while you try to do everything at home for them, you also have to spend a huge amount of your time at work, which may not leave you with any energy to do anything fun at the end of the day. While you can surely allocate a lot of extra time for the weekend when you want to do a host of things with your children, it can make your children feel unloved and neglected during the week.
In some cases, you may be in agreement with your ex where you decide to take care of the children as a joint responsibility. While you shift your child from one home to the other, it can also create a sense of confusion and a feeling of not being loved enough.

3. Your Children May Feel Lonely:

With work and too much to do at home, you may not always have the time or the energy and resources to take your children out and keep them entertained. Often your children can feel left out and uncared for, which can make them feel lonely and lead to depression or sadness.
If your children spend a lot of time at daycare or with other family members and friends, they may still be craving for your company, especially if they were used to having you around a lot more when you were a family with two parents. The sudden changes can be a cause of loneliness for your children.

4. Your Children May Have Discipline Issues:

When you are a single parent, you will try and tread carefully around your child. Even as you want to make sure that they are disciplined, you also do not want to sound overly authoritative or angry. It is natural that you may sometimes feel guilty of putting your children in this position and are not sure about how to handle various issues related to discipline.
Once your children realize you can be manipulated and will change your mind based on their pleading, they will start to bend the rules. Also, if your ex and you do not see eye-to-eye on basic discipline rules, it could give confusing signals to your children, and they will not know who to listen to.
Single parenting and regular parenting both have their positive and negative effects on children. Make sure you plan your parenting path and see how best you can make it work for you and your children.

Moms, if you have been a single parent or know of someone who has been one, do share some helpful tips here

Thanks for reading.