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4 Challenges of Dating as a Single Parent

4 Challenges of Dating as a Single Parent

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I’m not going to lie, there are challenges when it comes to dating as a single parent.  Being a single parent can cramp your style when it comes to dating if you let it. But don’t let it.  Here are 4 challenges that single parents face when dating, along with some advice on how to overcome them.  Because you owe it to yourself to have a life; and possibly a new relationship.  So follow this advice and you just might find yourself enjoying a few nights out on the town with an attractive companion.  And maybe more…

1. Time

One of the biggest obstacles to single parent dating is time. Without a partner to help you transport, feed and nurture your children, you may find yourself in a non-stop hamster’s wheel of activities, responsibilities and obligations.  And if you have small children, childcare may be an issue. They may already spend large amounts of time in daycare.

Giving yourself permission to get out and enjoy yourself is the first step toward having a regular dating life.  Enlist the help of friends, relatives an older child.  Trade evening babysitting with another single mother so your youngsters can be around people they are comfortable with.



2. Money

Simply put, dating can be expensive.

There are many activities that can be enjoyed without spending large sums of money. A simple picnic, an early movie, skating, hiking, a drive in the country, dinner at home, or a BBQ in the back yard are all activities that can be arranged very inexpensively.  And you’ll probably have a more enjoyable time.

3. Empathy

Not all dates are going to be thrilled with a date who needs to check on her offspring often or who receives multiple phone calls from demanding children or babysitters. The restrictions on how long you can stay out and how far away you can travel may put a damper on an evening with someone who does not have children of their own.

Instead of leaving this to chance, join organizations such as Parents Without Partners.  This can be an excellent way of engaging in family activities and meeting other people, especially those of the opposite sex, who are in your situation. There are also many online dating sites available which are designed specifically for the single parent.

4. Lack of Self-Confidence

Many single parents put all of their energy into taking care of their children and households. By the time they are ready to jump back into the dating arena, they may be out of touch with trends and popular hot spots. They may not have a wardrobe conducive to dating. Their conversation skills may be limited to entertaining a three-year old during snack time. All of this can add up to a general lack of confidence when it comes to re-entering the dating and relationship scene.

It may not sound like a good solution but practice makes perfect.  Sure, making mistakes doesn’t sound like fun, but if you keep trying and keep a positive mindset you will regain your confidence and dating will get easier.  Be patient with yourself.  The worst thing that you could do is to rush into dating anyway.

Be kind to yourself.  Give the dating process plenty of time.  And enjoy the journey.

Scholarships for Children of Single Parents

Scholarships for Children of Single Parents

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You’re a proud single parent of a soon-to-be high school graduate.  How will you finance your child’s college education?  The good news is there is financial help out there in the form of scholarships.  Depending on your circumstances you can search and find many scholarships to apply for that will help with the cost of sending your child to college.

To get you started in your search for scholarships for your college bound child, I’ve listed 10 scholarships for children of single parents.

1. American Legion Legacy Scholarship

Each year, the American Legion offers the Legacy Scholarship to provide a $37,000 stipend that can cover tuition, textbooks, and other living expenses for college students whose parent was killed while serving our country. Candidates must be the biological or legally adopted children of United States Armed Services members who died in active duty on or after 9/11. Eligible high school seniors and graduates should be enrolling for undergraduate studies at an accredited higher learning institution in America.
Contact:
American Legion Legacy Scholarship

2. Ava’s Grace Foundation Scholarships

Ranging in value from $3,000 to $5,000 apiece, the Ava’s Grace Scholarship Foundation (AGSF) distributes annual awards for up to four scholars across the state of Missouri who are being raised by a single parent while the other serves prison time. Qualified candidates must be U.S. citizens, exhibit financial need, achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5, be enrolling in an accredited non-profit college, be seeking their first degree, and have a parent incarcerated in a U.S. state or federal penitentiary.
Contact:
Ava’s Grace Foundation Scholarship

3. Ayo and Iken Children of Divorce Scholarship

Founded by a group of Florida divorce attorneys, the Ayo and Iken Children of Divorce Scholarship is presented annually for $1,000 to graduating high school seniors in Florida who live in a single parent family divided by divorce. Eligible applicants must plan to pursue post-secondary education after graduation, have parents permanently separated or divorced, and write a 2,000-word essay describing how their parents continue to show their love despite being part of a separated household.
Contact:
Ayo and Iken Children of Divorce Scholarship



4. Carolina Covenant Scholarship

For students from single parent households who are enrolling at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Carolina Covenant Scholarship is available to potentially cover 100 percent of tuition costs for a maximum of four years and provide a laptop computer. Qualified candidates must be considered dependents, maintain full-time enrollment status, be pursuing their first bachelor’s degree, make satisfactory academic progress, have U.S. citizenship, and come from a low-income family that does not exceed federal poverty guidelines.
Contact:
Carolina Covenant Scholarship

5. David J. Ewing Scholarship Fund

In honor of a beloved father of two who lost his battle with cancer in 1990 at the youthful age of 36, the David J. Ewing Scholarship Fund was created by the University of North Texas to award tuition assistance to currently enrolled full-time undergraduate students who have lost a parent during their working years. Along with the application, candidates must submit two letters of professional recommendation, official high school transcripts, financial aid reports, and a two-page essay on their educational goals.
Contact:
David J. Ewing Scholarship Fund

6. Families of Freedom Scholarship Program

Based on a financial need formula, the Families of Freedom Scholarship Program provides annual awards to dependent children of 9/11 victims, including World Trade Center workers, Pentagon employees, airplane crew or passengers, emergency medical personnel, firefighters, and law enforcement officers killed in the tragic terrorist attacks. Eligible applicants must be enrolling in an accredited post-secondary program at a vocational school, community college, or university in the United States before their 24th birthday.
Contact:
Families of Freedom Scholarship Program

7. Heroes Tribute Scholarship

Through the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation (MCSF), the Heroes Tribute Scholarship is granted to provide $7,500 for up to four years to children of Marines and Navy Corpsmen who were killed in combat operations on or after September 11, 2001. Eligible applicants must be planning to attend an accredited undergraduate college in the upcoming fall, maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0, be pursuing their first bachelor’s degree, and have been raised by a single parent with an adjusted gross income under $94,000.
Contact:
Heroes Tribute Scholarship



8. Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants

Administered through the U.S. Department of Education, the Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants are given annually for over $5,300 to college students raised by a single parent or guardian after a parent was killed in military service performed in Iraq or Afghanistan after the events of 9/11. Qualified candidates must be under 24 years old, plan to enroll in an accredited American college at least part-time, meet the Federal Pell Grant eligibility requirements, and have grieved the death of a parent in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Contact:
Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grants

9. Jackie Spellman Foundation Scholarships

In loving memory of a 24-year-old who lost her battle with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) after 14 months of painful treatments, the Jackie Spellman Foundation offers scholarships for $1,000 to $5,000 to graduating high school seniors or college students who have lost a parent from leukemia or lymphoma. Eligible candidates must plan to enroll full-time in college, have critical financial need, carry a minimum overall GPA of 3.0, and write an 800-word essay explaining how leukemia or lymphoma has forever changed their life.
Contact:
Jackie Spellman Foundation Scholarships

10. JoAnn Heffernan Heisen Scholarship

On the basis of academic merit and financial need, the JoAnn Heffernan Heisen Scholarship is granted annually at Syracuse University for $500 to $1,570 to currently enrolled undergraduate students raised within single parent households who need financial assistance to participate in a study abroad program. Along with a completed application, students must submit a one-page essay stating how studying overseas will help them reach their academic, personal, and career objectives in today’s global community.
Contact:
JoAnn Heffernan Heisen Scholarship

This list is only a portion of the scholarships that you can find out there to help in assisting you with funding your child’s college education.  So keep researching to get the most scholarship assistance you can for your child.

10 Single Parent Quotes

10 Single Parent Quotes

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Here are 10 anonymous quotes about being a single parent.  I hope they encourage you.

1. I didn’t set out to be a single parent.  I set out to be the best parent that I can be … and that hasn’t changed.

2. Being a single parent is twice the work, twice the stress, and twice the tears; but it’s also twice the love, twice the hugs and twice the pride.

3. There is nobody stronger than a single parent.

4. As a single parent, some days you have no idea how you’re going to do it.  But every single day it still gets done.

5. Being a single parent is hard.  But it’s better to be a parent by yourself than to do it with someone who doesn’t want to be a parent at all.



6. When the wrong people leave your life, the right things start to happen.

7. Anyone can have a child and call themselves a parent.  But a real parent is someone who puts that child above their own selfish wants and needs.

8. I’m a single parent.  What’s your Super Power?

9. I pretend that being a single parent isn’t as hard as people say; but it’s the hardest loneliest struggle I’ve every been through.

10. Being a single parent made me stronger than ever before.

Single Parent Families Today

Single Parent Families Today

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Single Parent Families

Today being the head of a single parent family is more common than the so called traditional family. The traditional family was defined as a mother, father and children. Today we see all sorts of ‘families’ including many single parent families. And even within the category of single parent family we see a range of mothers, fathers and even extended family members raising children as a single parent. Today none of this is unusual.

Single Parent Life

Life in a single parent household today is quite common, but it can be very stressful for the parent and the children. It can be hard not having a partner to share the responsibilities of paying the bills, taking care of the children, and doing the chores. You have all of the parental responsibility in additional to working full time. And it’s no secret that many single parent families have less financial resources than two parent households, which can make single parent family life more stressful.

In addition to all of the above, single parent families can sometimes experience added stressors that two parent families typically don’t experience.

Unique Situations that Cause Stress in Single Parent Families

  • Visitation and custody problems can lead to fractured emotional bonds and expensive legal bills.
  • Potential for conflict with non-custodial parent over different parenting styles.
  • Quality time with children can be hard to come by.
  • Disruptions of extended family relationships can feel alienating.
  • Potential problems when the parent starts to pursue new relationships

Single Parent Family Success

Single parent families can be successful. The best way to succeed at single parenting is to try to get along with your children’s other parent if possible. Also reach out to other single parents. Build up your support team. There are groups that you can join in your communities and churches. Strengthen the bonds with your extended family members as well. Don’t try to do it alone. Accept help and assistance from others. And give back where you can.

Tell us about your single parent success stories.

Fighting for Child Support When Parents Are Unmarried

Fighting for Child Support When Parents Are Unmarried

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Disclaimer: Laws may vary from state to state. I advise you to do your own research.

Before You Can Request Child Support

Before we talk about support for the child born to unmarried couples, let’s look at child custody first.

Child custody cases for unmarried parents are quite different from those that involve divorced parents. Divorced fathers generally tend to find themselves in family court fighting for their right to retain contact or periodically visit their children after the separation. While divorced mothers generally are in the courtroom to fight for child support from the fathers. This dynamic is changing as more and more fathers get primary custody, and more mothers become the parent who earns the higher income.

For single parents who’ve never been married however, paternty must be established before the single father can fight for the right to have any type of visitation or joint custoday. And paternity must be established before the single mother can take up the issue of child support the court.

After Paternity is Established

A number of important issues arise for both the single mother and single father when child custody is taken up in court. When the parents of a child are not married to each other, sole physical custody of the children is often awarded to the mother. Unless a father establishes paternity though court approved procedures and takes a strong action to be awarded custody of his children, he is usually left with very little chances of gaining access to them.

If the single mother denies the single father access to the children, he has to seek action in a family court to establish paternity and wait for the judge’s final decision. Full custody of the children are usually only be granted to unwed fathers if the mother is found unfit to raise them. For younger children, the chances of an unwed father being awarded custody have always remained slim, and a lot of time and money is involved in these procedures.

Asking a Court to Grant Financial Support

When it comes to financial support for the child from an unwed couple, there is an increasing number of single mothers going to court to obtain some form of support from the single father. In these cases, the mothers have to first establish paternity so she can request financial support for the children under her custody. Without seeking the help of the court, it is often impossible for mothers to get the fathers to pay for their fair share in raising the children. When support is delivered voluntarily, single mothers face the threat of losing this anytime a single father decides to stop these contributions. But with a court decision after paternity is established, garnishments against the salaries or any form of income the father makes can be arranged, and the children are assured of continuing financial support until they are of age.

If you find yourself in this situation the best thing to do is stay focused on what is best for the child. Making sure that everyone’s legal rights are protected before problems arise is the smart thing to do.