by Gwendolyn Golden

Created on: February 07, 2009   Last Updated: February 22, 2009

Raising kids alone is not an easy task, it is one of hardship and trials, yet, I admit , speaking from experience, it can be done. Sometimes being a single parent is not by choice and every woman desires to have a husband that loves her and fathers the children that they have created together, yet, in this lifetime things happened and we are left with the choice of raising children on our own. It is a learning experience where usually there is no training, it's a day by day hands on learning.

I knew absolutely nothing in raising a child, no education about it, no one to talk to for help so I was left on my own to grab every piece of information to help me during my pregnancy. I purchased books that gave me knowledge of what I had entered into, the world of single parenting.

First, I established the fact that I had to have God in my life in order to raise my child. Bringing him up in the admonition of God. I knew that if I would bring him weekly to church and get that seed planted in him, maybe later if he strayed from the truth, he would come back with my faith and prayers and I am witness that it does work.

Responsibility is a way to ensure the child will take care of what belongs to him. Keeping his room clean, picking up trash in his yard, drying the dishes are ways to help him see that being responsible in the things that concern him is being wise. It is our responsibility as parents to teach responsibility to our children daily.

Being independent in knowing who we are and what we want out of life should be placed in our children, Loving our kids goes beyond everything that we can do or say, for it gives a child the inner ability in knowing that I am loved and I can be anything I want to be in this world. Love should never be distant from a child, it should always be placed within him every chance that you get and ongoing process. When he or she is older they will never forget that and will pass that love on onto their children.

Their friends should be chosen with the utmost concern, someone who will steer them in the right direction, someone who has great insight about themselves and who has goals and dreams of becoming whatever they choose to become. Friends can be a help or a hindrance and negative friends take without giving back and they are not for the betterment of your child.

Having good Christian counsel in raising a child is very important, for talking to someone who has been down the road you are traveling is a plus for you.

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