I wrote recently about how I think that single parents really need other single parent friends, but I also think it is really important that as a single parent family—we have people in our lives that support our family and give us the unconditional encouragement. We get enough negative messages about what is so “wrong” with single parent families from the rest of the world—most of it blindsides us and is completely unsolicited. We need some people who think we are great, think our kids are fabulous, and are not “down” on single parent families.
We cannot hold up the world on our own and the truth is, there is a great deal of negative press out there for single parent families. Reports and studies are constantly hitting the papers and news reports on tv telling people all the troubles and trials that can be attributed to single parent families. We need to find churches, teachers, neighborhoods, friends, and family members who support and normalize our families—both for ourselves and for our children. We certainly get enough of “Well, he’s from a broken home” that we have to counter-balance it with some positive perspective.
Peers, family, love and support make all the difference. The role of a single parent can feel pretty isolating as it is. Plus, our kids really deserve to have people say encouraging and positive things about their parents and their families too. The world has changed, and there are increasing numbers of single parent families, it’s true. My own children have grown up in a world where it is pretty normal to have friends with divorced parents of to live in a single parent home—but that doesn’t mean that the negative messages aren’t still being spewed and spread. For the health of our families, we need to find those folks who think we’re doing fine and keep them in our lives!
Also: What is Normal Anyway?
Why Single Parents Need Other Single Parent Friends
Being a Mentor and an Example to Other Single Parents