The population of single parents has grown exponentially over the last 50 years.  According to Wikipedia, there are currently 13.7 million single parents in the U.S.  For many of us, being a parent is both the most rewarding and most challenging role we play in life.  Many of us feel like we are missing the handbook on the “right” way to handle situations.  That insecurity, as well as the challenges of parenthood, gets multiplied when we are single parents, whether it’s by choice, long-distance separations, divorce or death.

I was divorced from my children’s father when my daughter was 10 and my son was 8, and I didn’t anticipate most of the issues and problems that arose.  All I knew was that I wanted to do everything in my power to assure that they knew it wasn’t their fault, and that they were loved and wanted as much now as when their father and I were married.  Looking back over my 20 years as a single mom, I made many mistakes, or fell into many traps.  In speaking with many other single parents, I discovered that, they too, became caught up in behaviors which were not in the best interest of their children or themselves.