Single parent? 3 tips to strengthen your bond with your kids

Parenting in itself is a challenge for any couple. Things become a hundredfold challenging and critical when you are a single parent. Along with working on a full-time job, you are now faced with a mini version of yourself to provide for and take care of. Yes, occasionally you can find help from your loved ones. But ultimately, the child is your responsibility and you will give them the upbringing that they’d need to survive and thrive in this world.

There are no hard and fast rules that you can apply in parenting but there are steps that you can follow in raising your child better.

These parenting tips will help you be the super but single parent that you are:

1. Talk openly

As your children grow up, they also come across various challenges in this world and the people surrounding them. They feel new emotions and struggle to confront them; not knowing how to acknowledge their new reality and needs. The way to handle this is by talking openly with each other. Make a conscious effort to find out about things that are meaningful to them and listen attentively when they speak. Even the most trivial things can tell you a lot about their world. Make them feel that you are a safe person to open up to, this will help you understand them better and make wise choices together.

2. Appreciate more often

In this world, even adults need affirmation and appreciation for our works, children also need to be acknowledged and validated. Growing up, children have their doubts and insecurities. Some children are shy while others only ever want to play to express their feelings; each child is different and everyone requires a different approach and attention in their upbringing. To bridge the gap between you and your child, the path of appreciation works well. Try to praise your child more often and tell them how wonderful they are.

3. Don’t beat yourself up

Yes, taking care of a child is a duty and responsibility of the parents and we all fail once and maybe more. It doesn’t need to become a bigger problem than it is just because you’re a single parent. You can’t start beating yourself up over this. Whenever you feel like you’re losing control over yourself or you should’ve taken a different approach, take a step back and give time to yourself and your children. Take a meditative moment, perhaps go out on a walk and reflect on what went wrong, together. Talk out the problem so it doesn’t come back later and hurt you even more. Mindfully choose not to ignore the issue at hand.

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We understand that we all run out of patience as a human from time to time. Maybe the stress is building up from work or your child hasn’t been acting as you wished they would. It is important to behave like the adult that you are and be patient, kind, and empathetic. To be a good parent it is equally important to start by taking care of yourself and your needs. Always be the best version of yourself as a parent. If you feel drained, learn to ask for help from professionals because no matter what, you are not alone in this.