As many of you know, I am the parent of three—two girls and one boy. I have been a single parent for years and if I had my way, I would have even more children! Since my kids are approaching those late teenage years, I’m not ready to be done yet. One of the questions I get most often is how I manage to parent a boy? There is this assumption that a partnered mother can parent a boy, but an unpartnered one cannot. Sure, I might not BE a boy, but I am a parent…
I decided years ago not to give in to that line of thinking. After all, I don’t think that being a female means that I cannot interact with males—as someone with plenty of male friends, a brother, grandfathers, a dad, etc. I definitely don’t feel like having a son is so strange or uncomfortable. Plus, my son does still have a father—even if I have always been the primary parent.
Instead of seeing the reality that I am a single mom who has a son as a “problem,” I have instead viewed it as a grand adventure and a lucky chance to expand my life. Parenting tends to do that to us anyway. Each of my children is so different and it has more to do with personality and individuality than gender. Sure, I admit that there are real gender differences and that my son is on his own unique path that is very much affected by his maleness, but I refuse to believe that should make it impossible for me to do a decent job as his mom. Moms have been raising boys since the dawn of time and some of the sweetest; most responsible and caring guys that I have known—were also raised by single moms.
Also: Those Wonderful Boys