4 Obstacles Single Mothers Face and How to Overcome Them
Motherhood is not an easy journey for anyone, and can unfortunately feel even harder for single mothers. There are many conflicts and pressures that single mothers go through that other families may not experience firsthand. The strength and resilience of single mothers is incredibly admirable, but it's also understandable to experience severe burnout or exhaustion. We've gathered 4 common obstacles for single mothers as well as 4 ways to help ease stress and make motherhood a little easier.
4 Common Obstacles for Single Mothers:
- Maintaining a work/life balance. Balancing work and leisure time can be difficult because single mothers are expected to provide for their children. This can lead to single mothers working extra hours. When single mothers are not working, they have to take care of their children, which overall can lead to little time to have by themselves.
- Experiencing emotional struggles. There is an emotional challenge that single mothers go through, a sense of loneliness and depression when mothers cannot share the good and bad experiences with someone or have a partner to share the work with.
- Lack of financial support. Single mothers often feel guilty for not providing enough for their kids. Being a single mother is a huge responsibility and takes a lot of courage, remember to always remind yourself how good of a job you are doing.
- Pressure to make decisions. Without the support of a partner, many big decisions in a child's life are left up to the single mother to make. This can feel incredibly intimidating and cause plenty of stress.
4 Ways to Help Ease Stress and Make Motherhood a Little Easier:
While it may not feel like it sometimes, you are not alone. Single motherhood is not a walk in the park, but there are various resources and solutions to help ease the burden.
- Build a strong support system. Being able to rely on family and friends during hard times in motherhood is essential in preserving your wellbeing. Admitting you need help only proves your strength, not your weakness.
- Connect with other single moms. Finding an online group or forum, or an in-person gathering of single mothers is another great way to add to that support system. Sharing advice with someone experiencing the same struggles is comforting.
- Take time for yourself. While it may be hard to achieve, setting aside time strictly for yourself is absolutely necessary to avoid burnout and fatigue. Ask your support system to assist with babysitting and treat yourself to self-care in any way you see fit.
- Seek professional assistance. Whether seeking psychological, financial, or general help, this can be a great way to navigate single motherhood. There are a handful of resources for single mothers to reach out to in order to receive help. Acenda offers various counseling services and family programs. For more assistance for single moms and food stamp information, click here.
Single motherhood is hard, but it is not shameful or weak to reach out for help. Remember: you are not alone.
Acenda Cares for Moms
Our team of Motherhood & Family Advocates provide pregnancy and child development resources for new and expectant parents from prenatal care through kindergarten. We're here to help answer your questions and provide useful pregnancy and parenting support when you need it most. Best of all, our resources and support services are completely free for all families.
For more information about our SPECIALIZED PREGNANCY AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, please call 856-431-4180.
Sources:
http://www.singlemom.com/new-jersey-assistance/
https://daddysdigest.com/article/the-top-5-problems-single-mothers-face-in-society
https://www.scarymommy.com/single-mother-stigma-misconceptions/