Introduction
A parent who looks after his or her children alone or without the help of the other parent is regarded as a single parent. Nine years ago when I became a single parent to my daughter Dominique, I quickly became aware of the long road ahead of me. Additionally, I had just separated from my husband and I was also moving to America. Although I was aware our lives (me and my daughter) were about to become complicated, I knew we would reap rewards in the end if we worked hard. The love of my daughter was so immense that I could not leave her behind with anyone. With this in mind this paper is therefore going to shed some light on the challenges of my life as a single parent and show how I tried to balance the workplace, parenting responsibilities and college attendance. The paper will then conclude by highlighting the issue of appropriate single parenting.
Reason for being a single parent
The main reason why I became a single parent was to concentrate in shaping my future life. This was also the road to the proper upbringing of my daughter who would in return be of benefit to me in my old age. Although my life in Barbados was generally pleasant, I knew I would come to face some difficulties emanating from my marriage. Despite the fact that I was not comfortable in marriage, my separation with my husband was not dramatic. This is in contrast to most separations happening nowadays, so it did not make me lose sight of striving to achieve my goals and moving to America.
Challenges of a single parent
Being a single working mother is a very difficult and involved task. Studies show that single motherhood is normally linked with a lot of unconstructive social, behavioral and psychological impacts to the child being brought up. Despite these facts, I made sure I synchronized my parenting responsibilities together with work and attending a part time college appropriately. My schedule became very hectic sometimes because of all the priorities I had to consider. These were some of my major challenges but I always found a way out and in the event I made things work out. I have learned throughout my life not to give up, that is why I handle my entire concerns almost single handedly. Every problem that comes my way, I treat it as a challenge rather than a problem and this keeps me moving.
Even though I am busy most of the time I make sure I give my daughter the necessary attention required. Again, in spite of all this ups and downs I still have amazing support consisting of family and friends. External support together with the hardships of being a single parent, have finally started paying off. This is evident in how well Dominique performs in school; she received honors for her good performance in school while still balancing her after school activities well. In comparison to the life I was living back in Barbados I feel I have benefited a lot from this move. Here I happen to be juggling several responsibilities at a go, which is providing for my daughter, being full a time dental assistant where I have been performing exceptionally and being a part time student with expectations of graduating from a dental hygienist program in 2012. All of these accomplishments to me define the word reward.
Conclusion
The mutual understanding of why there was a separation, made it easier on the relationship which both my ex-husband and I have with my daughter. In order to keep this relationship tight, my daughter visits her father at least once a week and during the summer holidays. My daughter is currently doing well in her studies while I am also excelling in all my endeavors. Therefore as shown in this paper single motherhood is not just an issue which can instill immoral behavior in children being brought up as many people put it? On the contrary when proper parenting practices are embraced children can be brought up with the right characters.