Questions tagged [single-parent]

Questions regarding a household where there is only one parent present, regardless of the circumstance of the other parent's absence.

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
48 votes
25 answers
80k views

Why does my daughter smile and start to laugh at me when I am noticeably really angry at her?

My daughter is 11 years old and has been diagnosed with high functioning austism along with sensory processing disorder. I am a single father and have raised her alone since she was two years old. We ...
4 votes
2 answers
338 views

Should i be taking care of my siblings all the time?

I am 13 years old and my dad tells me to take care of my siblings all the time. He makes me watch them, make their food, play with them every time, dress them up and even makes me go check on them ...
3 votes
1 answer
183 views

What are things to consider when moving yourself and kids closer to your girlfriend?

I’m beginning to think about moving closer to my girlfriend to spend more time with her. We’ve known each other for around 7 months now and things are going great! We are both good at communicating in ...
8 votes
11 answers
105k views

How can I stop my 5-year-old's violent tantrums?

I am a single mom to a very good 5-year-old little boy ... 90% of the time. About once a week, give or take, he has a meltdown and becomes violent (hitting, scratching, biting, throwing things, etc.). ...
2 votes
3 answers
244 views

Absent Father of 6 years from birth with alcohol, drugs and gambling addictions

My child's father has been completely absent since the first week of my child's life. There has been no contact until now (6 years later). He lives around the corner and passes us everyday, he has not ...
3 votes
1 answer
353 views

How to help mom deal with disrespectful and uncooperative sister?

I am a 23-year old college senior that temporarily returned from college during quarantine. Due to logistical necessity, since my brother moved into my former room when I left, I've been sleeping on ...
3 votes
2 answers
770 views

Kid genius help

I am the legal guardian of a kid, after his/her parents were found incapable of taking care of him. Okay from day 1, I saw that he/she couldnt make any friends and knew things normall a 6 year old ...
4 votes
3 answers
682 views

4 year old seems suddenly uninterested in me

I have been separated from my childrens' father for nearly two years. I have custody of our two children, and he lives in a different city than us. Although it is a long haul for him to get to us, he ...
5 votes
1 answer
278 views

depression is affecting my parenting, work and I'd like to move city

I'm a single parent, two kids 14 & 12. no family (I'm a single child orphan, from my late teens) to help with support. I get no help (financial or otherwise) from my former partner who was removed ...
1 vote
4 answers
1k views

How to make my 15-year-old sister stop stealing money?

My younger sister is 15 years old. We grow up in a single parent family. She has the bad habit of stealing money, which began when she was very young and still continues. We punished her - sometimes ...
3 votes
1 answer
473 views

Separation between me and my stepson

I have a six-year-old stepson. Today, his parents sued me in order to take their son back. How do I explain the situation to him? Note that I adopted him at age 3, so he probably does not remember ...
2 votes
3 answers
2k views

What's a reasonable phone/FaceTime schedule for a six-year old child and a remote parent?

For the sake of concreteness and specificity, let's say that both parents work full-time Monday thru Friday. What is reasonable for the remote parent to expect from the 'on site' parent?
8 votes
3 answers
1k views

How and when to tell my 5-year-old son that his "daddy" is gone?

I am a single mom again (as of a week ago) of a 5- (almost 6-) year-old, who is in kindergarten. My son's biological dad and I were together 5 years but we lived apart by the time I got pregnant. He ...
3 votes
2 answers
528 views

How to talk to my 8-year-old daughter about her absent father?

My 8-year-old daughter hasn’t seen her father since she was 5 months old. It was an mentally and physically abusive relationship, so we moved to a different province and he hasn’t attempted to see her ...
4 votes
2 answers
10k views

How to deal with tantrums in my 5-year-old?

My 5-year-old can't seem to shake off the temper tantrums! Probably because while trying to "fix" it, I've unintentionally given him attention for it. I've gotten to the point of enough. I've done the ...
5 votes
1 answer
357 views

How can I ensure that my daughter is not excessively attached to me?

I have been a single father to my two children- a sixteen year old girl and a fourteen year old boy- ever since my wife separated from me eight years ago and married another man. I have had extremely ...
112 votes
8 answers
20k views

How to comfort my dad after telling him that I don't like to do anything with him?

I live with my dad and my grandmother. I don't live with my mother because several times she was caught doing drugs around my step sister. They split up when I was 6 months old. My dad and I don't ...
0 votes
1 answer
117 views

What are the options for day care and baby help for poor single mother?

A young woman expects a baby in few months, she is poor and she has no family in the USA. She lives in Boston and it's not an option to move away at this moment (education). Her salary is around 2K/...
3 votes
1 answer
602 views

How to teach my 7-year-old daughter to not be so melodramatic when dealing with bullying and any stressful situation?

I am a single dad with a 7-year-old daughter. Her mum disappeared when she was 2. She had borderline personality disorder. My daughter has some behaviour in common with BPD such as 'black and white' ...
22 votes
5 answers
3k views

How to help children cope with a parent's suicide?

I've asked another question here: How to handle disclosing a parent's suicide to friends and their parents I've noticed that this question here: What are some strategies for helping children ...
6 votes
1 answer
445 views

How can I become part of my daughter's life again?

I have a 4 year old daughter who's life I have been in and out of (more out than in since we're being honest). I have royally screwed things up with her mother who is now married. I have a crippling ...
9 votes
3 answers
12k views

How do I get my 17-year-old under control when I raise him alone and his behavior is unacceptable?

My husband passed away 9 years ago. My 17-year-old son is currently in high school. I also have a 25-year-old daughter, who doesn't live with us but visits us over the weekend. I'm the one who is ...
11 votes
3 answers
3k views

My 16-year-old daughter has new personal items she hides - how can I make her to be more open?

I am a single mother of one 16-year-old daughter and I am very attentive to how my daughter develops as a person. We both work on it with constructive approaches. But from time to time I discover in ...
24 votes
5 answers
4k views

How can a father teach his girl child about menstruation?

Usually in a home, the mother will teach her daughter about menstrual periods, but consider this following situation: In my neighbor's home the father takes care of his daughter (at present the child'...
2 votes
2 answers
208 views

Activities that can engage two children of difference ages

I have two sons aged 6 and 3. I am separated from their mother but I have them 2/3 weekends and half of school holidays. My eldest son has some behavioural problems, he isn't coping with the ...
14 votes
4 answers
2k views

How to deal with a 3-year-old very high energy child as a single mom?

I have a 3-year-old who just loves to push my buttons. I'm a single mom who has him every night, but while I work he goes to his father. His dad says he tried to follow the same discipline and naps ...
1 vote
2 answers
792 views

What to do about our 8-year-old boy getting in trouble at his new school after having been taken away from his mom?

Our 8-year-old boy is now living with us, taken away from his mom due to abuse and now living with his dad, new home and new school. He spent his first 7 years with his mom and dad had weekend visits ...
4 votes
2 answers
661 views

What to do about 6.5-year-old grandson out of control?

About 1 1/2 years ago my grandson started acting out. It has now become so bad and we need to get him under control. First off I will say that my grandson lives with his mother as his mother and ...
4 votes
2 answers
434 views

How to help my 9-year-old daughter with an eating disorder (comfort eating)?

I am divorced and have custody of my children. I noticed that my 9-year-old daughter is eating much more food than she usually does and she has gained so much weight. She eats more during meals and in ...
-1 votes
2 answers
1k views

I am not sure how I can help my girlfriend. Looking for some guidance [closed]

My girlfriend has a 2-year-old child from a past ex. The ex rarely visits his daughter, but the majority of the time he is there to sort of flirt a bit with my girlfriend. He does not know she is ...
6 votes
2 answers
654 views

My 14-year-old is refusing to attend any schooling, even online

I have a 14-year-old daughter who has suffered from mental health issues since puberty. She has been through 4 middle schools and several residential behavior programs. I got her enrolled in an online ...
5 votes
2 answers
458 views

How to breastfeed exclusively in a joint custody situation

I have a friend who is single and finds herself pregnant unexpectedly. She and the father have no relationship at this point and don’t plan to, other than co-parenting, from separate households. It ...
2 votes
1 answer
3k views

What to do about my 5-year-old's tantrums?

I'm a single mother of a 5-year-old boy. Within the last month or so, his tantrums are increasingly getting worse. Hitting, talking back, spitting, name calling, throwing things, the whole nine. I don'...
4 votes
2 answers
1k views

Single Working Mom Wishes to Homeschool Child

I'm 14 weeks pregnant and I am seriously considering homeschooling for my child. How can I learn more about homeschooling in general, and specifically for single moms who have to work? Are any of you ...
4 votes
4 answers
711 views

My 11-year-old hates writing as do I. How to provide help to him writing a school essay without forcing him to do what he doesn't want to?

I raise my 11-year-old son by myself. He needs to write a small essay about his first day at school and I don't even know how to help him. He hates writing and is in love with math, so do I. I don't ...
2 votes
3 answers
199 views

How to help my daughter's 2-year-old son overcome his separation anxiety?

My daughter is a single mom with a 2-year-old boy. He cries when she needs to do dishes and laundry. Even if he had eye contact with her, he doesn't want to play on his own or watch one of his movies,...
4 votes
2 answers
404 views

Should I stop the visits of my infant's in-and-out father?

My son is nine months old and his father has seen him 10 times and recently has been cancelling his visits. We do not have custody in place but there is child support. I'm not sure if I should just ...
9 votes
4 answers
654 views

5yr old son becomes much more disobedient in public vs. in private

I'm a single mom and lost my partner when my son was 6 months old. My son is going to be 5 in June and most of the time when we are alone he is a very well behaved boy. The moment we are in a crowd ...
2 votes
4 answers
894 views

Son not wanting to talk to his father

My son is almost 9 years old. I've had sole custody of him since he was 2. I have given his father chance after chance to be in his life, and everytime he has hurt my son. He is in and out of jail and ...
8 votes
5 answers
1k views

Should I continue to allow my ex extra visits with his daughter when he is so unhelpful to me?

I am a single parent (no family around to help) and I have been struggling to raise my daughter alone. I'm also having problems with my ex. Holding down a job is difficult due to constantly calling ...
24 votes
3 answers
4k views

How can an older brother fill the parenting void of an absent father?

I'm not a parent. My father has recently left and a big void of fatherly like stuff has been left. I am that older son who moved back in and is attempting to help out the family. So naturally, the ...
5 votes
3 answers
961 views

My daughter asked if I will remarry

So, I'm a single father with full custody of my seven year old daughter and aside from Skype calls her mother is not in the picture. Today my daughter asked me quite seriously if I plan on remarrying. ...
1 vote
2 answers
3k views

Should I allow my child's in-and-out father to be a part of his life?

My son will be 3 years old in a couple of months and his father lives out of state. He did live here when my son was born but was not there and would not sign the birth certificate. It took a long ...
16 votes
3 answers
2k views

Dating as a single parent - When do you introduce your kid?

As a relatively newly single parent I have been contemplating the idea of when I am dating someone, when to introduce them to my child (3 year old). Currently I have just kept those lives separate as ...
5 votes
1 answer
842 views

My 13 year old son is skipping school and I'm not sure how to proceed

I am a single mother, my son's father is not in the picture. My son doesn't want to go to school and is being very difficult. He says he is going, but when I get home the school tells he was not in ...
9 votes
4 answers
2k views

Advice on dating when I have children

I have 2 young girls (4 and 1 1/2), and am single. I have recently returned to the dating scene. I like guys and have brought a number home, that have slept over. I'm worried that the girls, seeing ...
3 votes
2 answers
475 views

How to keep myself safe (during pregnancy) from abusive ex-boyfriend [closed]

I am now 20 weeks pregnant and I don't know what to do to keep this baby safe from an abusive ex that thinks I lost it. He is extremely mentally unstable and has threatened both of our lives if I ...
9 votes
4 answers
1k views

How do I explain to my five year old daughter that I am seeing someone?

My daughters father and I broke up 2 years ago. I am now dating a wonderful man who I am very happy with, but I am not sure how to explain this to my five year old daughter. She is very good friends ...
5 votes
5 answers
4k views

Is 5 hours too long of a drive for single parent with 2 year-old?

I'd like to take my 2yo son on a 5h road trip - but the mother is against this idea. I have to admit - it does seem daunting - but would like to try.
0 votes
3 answers
1k views

Out of control sibling

I'm a 17 year old student, in their last year of high school and under shared custody of my parents. I have 2 siblings, a 14 year old sister and a 16 year old brother. For nearly my whole life, I've ...