I don’t know about you, but in the years since I’ve become a single parent—I dread summers! Summers are definitely the most challenging time for me in terms of keeping track of the children, making sure they are cared for and their time is reasonably structured and we are able to do at least some family summer stuff. All this while continuing to work and run the household. Without the inherent structure of a school day and extracurricular activities, summer time can be a struggle for the single parent.
In addition to the time management aspects of the summer vacation, many single parent households don’t have the budget to afford summer camps and expensive vacations—or may even struggle to pay for child care and day camps. Putting together a reasonable plan for the summer can take months of attentive planning. I know when my own children were smaller, I’d start fussing and trying to orchestrate a summer plan by about spring break. It seemed that no matter how much effort and attention to detail I devoted, however, the reality of the every day during the summer months was still a big, challenging hassle!
As single parents, I think we really need to access our support systems during the summer months. Having neighbors we can trust, family members, and staying current on what is actually available within our community are all important considerations for the single parent. We may need to really do our research to find out what is out there, and what we can afford, as well as to coordinate carpools, structured time, and provide for our children’s safety and stimulation. If one is lucky enough to have a flexible job, this can be a real help too. I used to save up as much of my sick and vacation time as possible to use during the summer so I could be more available when my family needed me most.
See Also: Single Parents Aren’t Perfect–At Least I’m Not and Why We Can’t Do it All–Even if We Want To