SINGLE PARENTING : HOW TO STRIKE A BALANCE BETWEEN YOUR LOVE LIFE AND YOUR CHILDREN

Single parents most times, find themselves entangled in a web of loneliness as they are always- either afraid to get out there, having been burned from previous relationships (prominent case with divorced parties) or too scared to hurt their children's feelings (especially because such children must have been quite wounded from the trauma of loosing one parent- to divorce, death or what have you).

Sometimes, most single parents convince themselves that they are better off alone instead of going through the rigorous process of finding Love and risk hurting their children in the process. Situations like this is even more prominent in a country like Nigeria, where societal and religious prejudice frown upon divorce and most times expects widowed parents not to remarry, to concentrate solely on raising their children.

However, in the event wherein the said single parent is able to convince himself/herself that getting his/her feet wet again (an analogy for trying again) would be in his/her best interest, the problem becomes striking a balance between his/her supposed love life and the children. Some of the ways to do that, without tipping off any of the involved parties would be:

UNDERSTAND YOUR CHILDREN

Every single parent should make it a point of duty to understand the needs of his/her children at each turn. You have to understand the signals your children (especially young ones who cannot pass their feelings effectively yet, with words) send at every point. Do not assume your child needs a father/mother figure because he/she exhibits a certain characteristic and let that push you into searching for someone to assume such role. Do not assume anything. Find out yourself, look for ways to make your child confide in you.
Also, you have to understand how your child exhibits his/her own emotions, so you can clearly create a meaning out of each signal he/she sends across to you, when you finally find the one. This is because most times, the children are always the first to know who would or who would not be good for you but will probably not be bold enough to say it out loud. Some signs like, 'running off whenever your love interest is around, avoiding him/her at all cost and so on, could show that your child is not comfortable with such person present and you have to find out why...and deal with it! To see more, visit http://www.familyflex.net/2016/08/single-parenting-how-to-strike-balance_29.html