Share Your Story | Divorced Moms | Choice Moms | Widows | Single Fathers
With nearly 14 million single custodial parents raising their children alone, single parenting stories are not uncommon in the United States. However, with so many different avenues by which single parents become single, a great many myths and assumptions continue to exist about the single parenting community. The following single parenting life stories, submitted by our readers, provide a glimpse into the realities behind the statistical rise in single parenting.
When my son Jimmy was just six-months old, my fiance and I split. He'd battled with a long-time addiction to prescription pain killers and I finally realized there was nothing I could do anymore. My son was my biggest priority, so at the tender age of 22, I packed up my stuff and became a single mum.
~Nikki Taylor
I have been a single parent since my daughter was born, over 8 years ago. I was 20 when I had her, and had no idea what I was doing. Fortunately, I had the support of my parents, who let us live with them for the first few years, which really helped us out financially, as I was a sole support parent. However, this created an added challenge, as my parents and I have different parenting styles. However, we all managed to survive.
During the time I was living with them I went to college, got a diploma in administration, and now have a job I enjoy at a local university. My daughter and I have a great apartment, and I am now back at school part-time, working on an undergraduate degree in English (something I've always wanted to do) with plans to teach in the future. It hasn't been easy, and I have made a lot of mistakes along the way, but with patience, determination and support (from wherever you can get it) I believe anything can be possible!
~Rachel H.
I am 29 with kids ages 8 and 10. Their father, by choice, is not involved with them, so I am really, really, flying solo. We've faced many issues, including: job losses, the loss or lack of adequate child care, scheduling, and school issues. So many things, it seems.
After being laid off a second time (once in August '07 and then again in January '08) I decided to go back to school full-time to complete my degree. It's a little bit of a roller coaster ride, and we've had to temporarily give up some luxuries, but it's working.
One of the things I did to help my kids cope was get them involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters, which has been excellent.
~Nikki
I used to be a party girl, but the moment I got pregnant with my oldest child (who's three now), I got clean and sober. For awhile, my boyfriend did, too, but it didn't last. Before I knew it, I was pregnant again, and he was back to the party lifestyle.
I became a single parent about a week after our youngest son was born, and my boyfriend was eventually locked up for drugs.
Of course, it's been hard. It's hard to date, hard to pay bills, and even hard to keep my sanity at times! But I've pushed through, and things are finally looking up.
One of the things that I'm really proud of is that I've found an inner core of strength that I always thought was missing in me. It was there, but it was buried, and now it's out for the world to see!
References:
United States. Census Department. Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2005. By Timothy S. Grall. Census, 2007. 17 Mar. 2008 [http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/p60-234.pdf].
