by Rita Chaney

Created on: July 29, 2010   Last Updated: July 30, 2010

The life of a single parent is complicated, yet rewarding.  It’s complicated because the job requires so much time, patience, and attention but offers few opportunities for me time.  It’s rewarding because a single parent is in a position to have an incredibly close and supportive relationship with his/her own children.  How can single parents find free time to just enjoy life and be themselves?  Perhaps some of these tips will help single parents find more me time.

1—Establish friendly relationships with parents of your child’s friends.  Parents can provide one another with child care, trade off transporting the kids to and from activities, and simply be supportive of one another.  The wider your support network, the more people you have to seek help and support from.  A large supportive network equals more me time.

2—Consider arising early in the morning before the kids wake up.  Mornings can provide some of the most tranquil, uninterrupted periods of time to do whatever you feel like doing.  Early mornings are a great way to capture more me time.

3—Call on your family members to help you get me time.  For example, a single mom could call her brother and ask him to take the kids fishing on a Saturday morning.  Or a single dad could ask his sister to take the children to a movie with her children.  Here again. Later on, single parents can offer support and help to the family member who helped them with the kids.

4—Join a health club that provides child care.  Once you meet the child care staff and investigate the child care center at the gym, you may feel comfortable enough to work out 3 or 4 times a week leaving the kids with the gym’s child care staff for 45-60 minutes.  What a great way to get me time and exercise!

5—Make the most of your child’s early bedtime.  That hour or two you have after the kids go to bed is a rich source for me time.  Reading, chatting with a friend by phone or doing your favorite craft can be a part of any single parent’s me time in the evenings after the children retire for the night.

6—Try to coordinate your children’s activities with your own desired activities.  For example, if your child takes gymnastics for an hour after school twice weekly, use that time to arrange to meet a friend for coffee or browse for books at the library.  You could even go home and catch a quick, relaxing nap, if you wish.

7—Finally, depending on your children’s ages, you may be able to obtain some me time at home while the kids are doing homework or household chores you have assigned.  Just 30 minutes of reading or laughing along with your favorite sitcom can provide just the respite you need to feel more relaxed.

Thinking openly and creatively will help you discover ways to capture the me time that single parents so richly deserve.  Regularly giving yourself me time assures you will be recharged, relaxed, and contented so that you can be the best single parent possible. 

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