It’s always important to be a positive role model for your children, not only in the things you do but in your outlook on life as well. This is especially important if you are a single parent. It’s very important that you have taken care of your emotional needs and are in a good place when you interact with your children. As their sole custodial parent you have the most influence on their attitude and outlook on life.
It’s very easy to get discouraged. There are bills to pay, mouths to feed, and a house to run, it can be overwhelming. If you always have a doom and gloom attitude your children will too. It’s important to be positive, look at the bright side, and try to find the good in every situation. By doing this you are giving your children important life skills. If you are unhappy and miserable there is a higher chance your children will be depressed. If you have a good attitude and take minor setbacks in stride instead of seeing everything as a major roadblock your children will use the same skills when they encounter difficult situations.
When I was first divorced I just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. I felt like a failure, I couldn’t do anything right. I knew that wallowing in self pity would not help me and could possibly harm my daughter so I had to pick myself up, put on a smile and do what had to be done. Through this experience I learned that happiness is a choice. In any situation you can find the bad and dwell on it, if you want, but if you can find the sunny side you take back your life and things don’t seem anywhere near as bad.
Every morning when I wake up and the bills are piling up, Hailey needs a million and one things, the roof is leaking, the car won’t start, I decide to be happy. These little things do not define me and cannot control my life and my attitude, unless I let them. So I choose to be happy, and I’m happy to say, my daughter is a positive, happy person and I believe that she learned that behavior from me.