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How Does Having Children Affect Friendships?

Sometimes, I worry about what having kids will do to my already nonexistent social life. I’m not whining about not being able to go out and have fun anymore. That’s just not my thing. I’m a stay-in, watch-movies, read-books, play-video-games kind-of-person. My closest friends are those who like to do the same thing. What I’m worried about is growing further apart from the friends that I do have. A lot has already been written about how important it is to preserve one’s friendships outside of our marriage. We may have (hopefully) married our best friend, or at least one of … Continue reading →

The Dating Dilemna

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Eventually you are going to want to date again. When I first got divorced I thought I was ready to date but I quickly found out that neither Hailey or I was ready. So I stopped, it wasn’t hard, I wasn’t having that much fun anyway and dealing with a sullen child after one of my dates made it even less fun. When you step back into the dating world you have to be prepared for the effect it will have on your relationship with your child. This is a very confusing time for kids, they still believe in happily … Continue reading →

Where’s My Manual

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When Hailey was born many times I wished for a manual. Something that would guide me and let me know if I was doing the right thing. Eventually, I learned enough about my baby that she was able to tell me what she needed and together, we figured this thing out. However when I got divorced I was once again looking for that manual. What do I do first? What kind of relationship should I have with my ex husband? Where should we live? Is it ok for Hailey to change schools? What if my ex misses his weekend with … Continue reading →

Dating Tips For Single Parents

Dating as a single mom can be a little daunting. For most of us, it’s been years since we went on a date with anyone other than a man who knew us well. I remember feeling like I didn’t even know how to behave on a date anymore! More and more single people are using online dating as a way to meet people. This can make dating even scarier, it’s one thing to go out to dinner with someone you know, even vaguely, but to go out with a complete strange can be a little intimidating. Here are a few … Continue reading →

Teen Dating: When Your Teen Isn’t Ready

This week I blogged about the question, “Is Your Teen Ready to Date?” I would like to spend a few more blogs on this topic because I think it is a really important issue for parents of teenagers. Perhaps you have decided that your teen is not ready to date…or maybe you are just not ready to let your teen date. How do you handle that? The first thing you need is your ammunition. Why are you not allowing your teen to date? Do you truly believe it is because your teen is too young? They are not emotionally ready? … Continue reading →

Can Parents Protect Teens from Dating Violence

As a parent of two teens, a boy and a girl, one of my biggest worries is that they may fall someone with violent tendencies and experience dating violence. I have seen far too many incidences in my time of young women where controlled by their boyfriends and that control turned to violence and even death. I have even seen young men whose girlfriends start off very argumentative and before long start nagging constantly and even hitting and throwing things. Even after breaking free of a relationship such as this a young person is usually ruined for the chance of … Continue reading →

Actor Impregnates His Children’s Former Nanny and Montel’s Show Fizzles Out

Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman’s two children are about to get a new sibling… from a woman they know well. According to the actor’s rep, Hawke’s children’s former nanny and current girlfriend (got that?), Ryan Shawhughes is pregnant with the “Dead Poets Society” star’s baby. Hawke and Shawhughes are reportedly thrilled by the news and say they can’t wait to introduce the baby-to-be to Hawke’s kids with ex-wife Thurman. The two actors were married for seven years and had two children together daughter Maya, now 9, and son Levon, 5. When the superstar couple split in 2004 rumors swirled that … Continue reading →

Dating a Single Parent? Flexibility and Ability to Roll with Things a Must

Many of us didn’t start out as the most flexible people on earth—I know that by nature, I tend to like a fair amount of order and structure in my world. I have had to learn as a parent how to be true to those character traits, while being completely flexible and able to roll with the unexpected and the unplanned things that go down in a typical family. So, it might seem unreasonable to expect that those people we date, if they do not already have children, to be flexible and open to the unplanned and unexpected, but even … Continue reading →

Should You Include Your Child on a Date?

Dating and the single parent is one of those slightly controversial topics we return to again and again here in the single parent blog. We all seem to have different opinions about what is considered “okay” and what isn’t. What about dating WITH children? Not as in dating if you have a child at home, but including a child on a date? I have to admit that I have ambivalent feelings about including a child on a date. When I look back over past years and dating adventures and disasters I can see that there were times when I needed … Continue reading →

When Your KIDS Think You Should “Find Someone”

My kids have been generally supportive of my sad attempts at dating. As a matter of fact, they have been rather patient with the whole process as I know it isn’t always thrilling to have an unattached parent. I have made a few questionable choices over the years which has led me to just call the whole dating thing off—I figure if it hasn’t happened by now, chances are the whole love and partner thing ain’t-a-coming; besides there is so much other stuff to do. My kids, however, are thinking it’s about time that their solo mom “found someone.” I’m … Continue reading →