by Ray Langley

Created on: July 16, 2008   Last Updated: August 27, 2010

Testimonies: Struggles of a Single Parent

 Single parents struggle with time. Even two-parent families struggle with having enough hours in the day, but when the majority of the responsibility falls solely on the single parent, the struggle can be suffocating. Working or going to school to try to increase your marketable skills, while caring for your child can be an exhausting, thankless challenge that seems to have no end. A child’s needs are not negotiable, and can feel like a continual draw on the single parent’s emotions. Foregoing sleep to create an income or studying is common for the single parent, lowering their tolerances both mentally and physically.

 While the care of the child is always the first concern, the need for an income to provide that care can take the lead. Having to find affordable childcare and transportation for both the parent and the child can be a difficult task, especially in large urban developments. Large city or small town it is difficult being away from your child for the majority of the day, but a necessity. Having trusted friends and family that can assist with childcare or transportation is worth it’s weigh in gold to a single parent. It is also the terrible price that parents pay to provide for their children when they have to work during those fleeting moments of childhood.

 Methods similar to parenting, used in other countries to extract information from suspects are inhumane by most social standards. Sleep deprivation, emotional strains and stress, malnutrition, physical abuse, and other dehumanizing restrictions sound like torture, but it is the exact same situation that most single parents find themselves in everyday. Encountering the same traffic, weather, and workday stress as the rest of the world while also being responsible for the care of another human. All parents need support both morally and emotionally, and for some single parents that support is all that gets them through.

 A single parent does not give up on career or personal goals, but moves them to a different scale, seeking to intertwine the care of their child with the steps that lead to their success. Achieving the balance of success and sacrifice that provides the best outcome for the single parent and the child is a difficult journey for anyone. Being on the path may challenge ones resolve, and feel like it pushes the parent to an emotional breaking point. Embrace the changes of life even if fighting with the passage of time, to create the best bond between the single parent and their child. Despite the challenges and the harrowing emotional highs and lows, the creation of a responsible human being is always worth the trouble.

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