Confessions of a Single Mum

Archive for the ‘Being a Single Mum’ Category

When there is only one parent to do everything, every bit of help is appreciated. Now I’m not suggesting you have to hire a cook, cleaner and gardener, though very tempting, as that isn’t financially viable. But there are a few things that I am tackling in my children. Not because I am a power hungry, neat freak over bearing mother, but because it will ultimately help me. Bear in mind though that every child, parent and situation is unique so these are just ideas that I have found to work or are working. Be realistic in what you want to achieve and remember you can’t expect any child to be neater, tidier or more organised if you aren’t. They learn from you. Read the rest of this entry »

Apparently the three leaders of the political parties, Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg, are backing a campaign ‘Lets Lose the Labels’ by Gingerbread to stop us single mums from being viewed as ‘lazy scroungers’.  ( steam coming out my ears!)

To highlight this and get the general public’s views, the radio show 5 Live ran a phone in today on the subject. You can listen to the show if you missed it and read some of the comments left by viewers.

You can register your support over at Gingerbread and read more about how its trying to change peoples views of us.

As ever it’s a controversial subject and one that gets me heated under the collar so no doubt you have a view on it all.  For me it’s not the shear hard work single parenting can be or the lack of support (despite the government saying there is support) or the financial side of it all that makes me boil. It’s the attitude of others towards me as a single parent. It’s the painting us all with the same brush I detest. So as well as all the others things that a single parent has to do, I also feel that I almost have to prove myself on daily bases too.

So let’s get the ball rolling on confessions and hear your comments.

Lots of lovely things have now been added in the Confessions Shop .

• Tops
• Umbrellas 
• Bags
• Aprons
• T-shirts all with slogans.

Let the world know you confessed at confessions of a single mum or that you are a yummy mummy.You can even get creative and design your own.

I’m not doing New Year’s resolutions anymore. Up until this year I have pushed myself to make a resolution list. It would be full of ‘new me’ ideas. I have wanted to be a better mum, a better friend, be more glamorous at the school gates, drop a few pounds or tighten up the less than tightened wobbly bits on me. I would start all enthusiastic and burn out by mid January (that’s on a good year). Read the rest of this entry »

The cat has attacked the Christmas tree for the last time, no more baubles catapulted randomly across the room as he scales the tree and then embarks on a less than cat like descent. Stray tinsel has been hovered for the last time and the dyson no longer doubles as a second Christmas feature. So with Christmas all done and dusted I’m shoved undignified into a new year complete with all the resolutions I never keep. Read the rest of this entry »

Being a single mum is at the best of times hard work but it is also very rewarding. Here I have talked to other single mums, as well as my own experience to find out the pros and cons of being a single mum. Read the rest of this entry »

‘Do it yourself’ is the mantra of single parents everywhere. As a single mum of two daughters, aged seven and fourteen, I know I have to rely on myself if I want anything done at all.

When I set out to write about being a single parent I had a good idea of what I wanted to say. It was going to be very balanced – an essay type argument – with a clear list of pros and cons. You can imagine the style; a punchy introduction, a few positives, a smattering of negatives, all building up to the conclusion that sure, parenting alone is tough, but it also brings a whole host of benefits. Read the rest of this entry »

Every now and again you meet someone whose situation or experiences just blow you away. There make you realize that actually anything can be conquered. I had one of those experiences this week when i had an email from a fellow single mum. In true form i fired a multitude of questions to find
out more about her. So next time you wonder if you can do this single mum lark, remember this lady who does it with gusto, has become a successful entrepreneur and to top it all off she is blind. Read the rest of this entry »