Single Parents Lacking Sleep-Working and Coping with Under Fives
This week I spoke to two single Dads who are doing amazingly well with looking after their children all aged under five and managing a full time job, fortunately their babies and toddlers sleep well. One of them though, works 16-18 hours a day and the other full time in a girls school, so although the kids are doing fine, what impact is lack of sleep having on their lives and ability to make decisions about their child/children’s future, finances and energy levels when it comes to play?
Family life is not just about the children and giving up everything to be the perfect Mum or Dad, clearly those don’t exist, it is about being the best parent you can be. Sometimes a little encouragement and insights from a coach, who’s not emotionally involved with your child, can give you simple answers that you had not thought of before.
Here are some top tips for those of you who are finding things hard as a single parent and need a little boost:
- Don’t try to be ‘SuperMum’ or ‘SuperDad’, just be you.
- Make time for yourself as well as your baby or toddler.
- Have fun relaxing together at home.
- Try not to spoil your child or ‘over compensate’, it tends to make things harder later on.
- Value and appreciate what you have, it may not be quite the life you imagined when you first had a baby, however if you are all healthy, happy and safe, that’s all that matters.
- Look for new opportunities to have fun together and times when you are apart.
If you need any help or support as you go through separation or divorce with your under five’s, I would be happy to speak with you in confidence and see how I could help you, ‘see the wood from the trees’ www.sanitynanny.com .