Single Parent Support Groups

I know that personally, I went through this battle with my self-esteem and emotions when I had to put my daughter in daycare. As a single parent, I had to be both mother and father to her, as well as provider for my household, disciplinarian, nursemaid, teacher and playmate. But as hard as I tried, I could not do it all, and those moments when I had to walk away, to steal a precious few moments to myself to remember that I am a person as well as a mother felt like precious moments stolen from the heart of my daughter.

What I needed was - support. What I have found is that there are literally hundreds of support groups out there specifically for single parents. Single parent support groups can be SO helpful to any single parent, mother or father. These groups can provide different perspectives, advice on raising your children, discipline strategies, tactics for dealing with all the difficulties that single parents face - and most of all - camaraderie. As a single parent, joining a single parent support group can bring you the friendships you so desperately need with people who are in similar situations to yours.

There are so many single parent support groups that you can join. At these groups you will meet other single parents who are trying to cope with their lives and with so many of the hurdles you face as well as a single parent. You may even be able to find other single parents who are willing to form daycare groups, car pools, and babysitting exchanges with you, which will help you with costs as well as just maybe get you out to a movie without ordering a happy meal.

Where do you find single parent support groups? Sometimes you can find single parent support groups in the office where you work. Check out your local Human Resources Office, Health Department or even church or daycare bulletin. Look in newspapers. If all else fails, create your own! You can post signs in the local grocery store, put them up at daycare, your church, your office, the bus stop, your apartment lobby, wherever single parents like you go to or pass through on a daily basis. No matter where you find these single parent support groups, or even if you start your own, one aspect that they all have in common is they provide a life-line for single parents to connect to others in their same situation. This will ultimately benefit both parent and child.