Single mom life

Single mom life information

You may be wondering, what is a single mom exactly? Well, a single mom is a mom who is raising a kid or kids on their own. Whether it’s a newborn or a 17-year-old, if there is only a mom raising the kid then they are a single mom. How do you become a single mom? Sometimes it’s by choice through adoption or artificial insemination. A lot of the time it’s not by choice though. It can be because of divorce, a partner's death, or the other parent had decided that they didn’t want to be involved in the children's life. However, they became single moms does not matter, the fact is that they are single mothers if they are the parent making all the parenting decisions and supporting the kid or kids financially.

What do single moms struggle with in their life?

Every day is a struggle for single mothers. In families that have two parents, everything is shared between the two of them. All of the childcare is shared, the cleaning and normal household maintenance is shared, and the grocery and clothing shopping. There can also be two sources of income if both parents work, or one parent can be further along in their career and be able to support the family financially on one income. But when you are a single mom, all of this is on one person.

Households with single moms tend to be low income households because it is only one person bringing home the money. And that money has to go towards all the bills and pay for food. This can be a huge stress factor for single moms. Also, this is on top of raising a kid or kids without a partner and doing all the household chores. A lot of single moms struggle with it all and then are judged because of that. People think that moms are supposed to be able to do it all and then some, which puts a lot of pressure on single moms who are struggling and makes them feel about it.

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The mental health of single moms

Being a single mom can have psychological effects on a person. With all the stress factors that they are dealing with and the fact that they don’t often have the time or the opportunity to take care of themselves in any way, it’s really not a surprise. A lot of single moms deal with depression and anxiety disorders but feel that they don’t have any time in their schedule to seek help or just don’t seek help at all. There is also a lot of stigma and judgment around being a single mom so many of them don’t want to add even more of that into their lives since they also surround mental health. This website Talk Space talks more about the mental health of single moms and gives some resources for those that decide to seek help. If you feel that your mental health is slipping, it’s important to seek help in whatever way you are able to, whether it’s finding a way to take some time for yourself or seeking professional help.

Why are routines good?

Having a set of routines in your life is good for everybody. Routines can help keep you organized and makes it so that the entire household knows what to expect and what to do. For single moms who have so much going and so much stress in their lives, having some routines in place can help make things a little bit easier on them. They can make you feel more in control of the situation that you are in and your life in general. They will also have an impact on the kids in the household because they will always know what is going to happen next and what they need to do. Once you have routines or procedures in your life, it’s almost like you will have a new life altogether. Below are 7 routines or procedures that every single mom should have a place in their life.

1. A morning routine

Having a morning routine in place for yourself and for your kids can be very beneficial for everyone in the household. For the single mom, try waking up an hour before the kids do. In this hour you can drink your coffee in peace, do an at-home workout or a calming yoga video, or even catch up on some cleaning. It really just depends on what your needs are. This website Busy Mom. Smart Mom. has even more ideas about what to do during this hour. When the kids are awake, it’s important to keep a routine going even for them. They can come out and eat breakfast, get dressed, brush their teeth, and all that jazz. But having a routine or basically, a set of procedures that you follow most mornings can help make them feel less chaotic.

2. And evening routine

Evening routines are just as important as morning routines are. They might actually be even more important. After work and school, there is more time in the afternoon evenings than in the morning which is good and bad. It can be good because it gives single moms more quality time with their kids. But, it means that it’s a lot of time to fill up. There are a lot of things that just have to get done in the evenings that can fill up a routine though. Kids may have to do homework, dinner has to be made, lunches have to be made for school the next day, and houses need to be cleaned. Whatever your routine is, write it down and put it in a place where you will see it often, like on the fridge. This way you know what needs to be done next.

The kids can even help with it, depending on their ages, making their own school lunches and helping with some of the chores.

3. Cleaning routine

With so much going on in, it can be hard for single moms to keep the house clean. But that’s where a cleaning routine comes in. Not every room needs to be cleaned every day. The kitchen and the living room/playroom may need to be straightened up every day, but they probably don’t need to be deep cleaned. What you can do is deep clean one room a day plus do some the basic things that may be needed. You can write the schedule down on a calendar or put it directly into your phone where you can even set reminders. Only focusing on one room a day means that you have more free time in the evening to spend with your kids or to give yourself more free time. And you can make the kids help straighten up their messes which would mean that you would have even less cleaning to do.

4. Budgeting

It may seem silly, but creating a budgeting routine will save you so much money in the long run. Maybe do it once a month, maybe every other week, or maybe every time you get paid, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you create the routine of looking over your expenses. Figure out exactly where all of your money is going, bills-wise, and then how much you will be spending on groceries and everyday items. This will help you discover things that you can save on, like streaming services that you don’t really use.

This way you can start putting money into savings or maybe you want to get back into the dating world and want a cute outfit. It doesn’t really matter how you spend any extra money that you find, but what does matter is making budgeting a normal part of your routine.

5. Self-care

Making self-care part of your normal routine is essential for single moms. In order for you to be at your best all the time, you need to take time to take care of yourself. This is something that will look different for everyone though. Some moms may want to watch an episode of their favorite show after the kids are in bed, and some may want to put on a facemask and soak in a tub. Salf-care is a very personal thing and a very important thing. The more often you take care of yourself, the better your mental health will be, which is why it is essential to make sure that it is part of your routine in some way. It might only be one night a week or thirty minutes a week, but even that’s better than nothing at all.

6. Meal plan

Starting a meal plan may seem daunting given that stores sell containers just for meal planning and there are social media feeds dedicated to it. But you don’t need a bunch of fancy containers and recipes to start meal planning. And it can actually be a great thing for single moms to add to their weekly routines. All you have to do is prepare a few meals over the weekend, put them in containers that can go in the fridge or freezer, and then heat them up when you are ready to make them.

It’s kind of like making school lunches every night, but they can feed your whole family. You can make a big salad to have a few nights a week, look up some recipes for main dishes, and you are good to go. Meal prepping can become an essential part of a single moms routine because it will save you time later in the week, but also money. When you go grocery shopping you will know exactly what you need and can stick to it.

7. Quick go-tos

Adding all of these big routines into your life is great, but the small routines can not be forgotten. These are little things that you may have trouble with at first but eventually will become second nature. One small thing single moms can do is always put their keys in the same spot. This will save time in the early morning rush out the door, and let's face it, anytime you leave the house with kids it’s a rush.

Another thing that can be super helpful for single moms to add into their routine is taking shoes off at the door. Shoes track in a lot of dirt and particles that then spread all over the house. Taking your shoes off at the door confines all of this to the one place. One routine that could be added is the entire family cleaning up the kitchen after dinner. All of these things may seem like super small things, but they can make the process of being a single parent, of being a single mom, just a little bit easier.