Single Mother Resources
Help For Single Mothers Article
This is a selection made from among articles on Help For Single Mothers. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for future reading, click here.
Having The Right Attitude Helps
from: Karlie BestlerYoung single mothers face a number of obstacles to successfully parenting their child while trying to achieve their own self-sufficiency. A child needs a mother's attention, but the young single mother usually needs to work to earn a living to support the child. This balancing act can be even more precarious when the young single mother is a teenage single mother who hasn't even completed high school.
With minimal education and few job skills in a society that demands higher education, a young single mother may end up caught in a poverty trap that gets tighter each year. The only way out is by having the right attitude. Motherhood is hard, single motherhood is harder, and teenage single motherhood much harder.
Traits To Develop
*A thick skin and an open mind
*Persistence
*Ability to establish goals and follow through
*Courage to work hard without any guarantees of success
Develop A Thick Skin And An Open Mind
A young single mother is stereotyped in this society as being a social burden or a personal failure. Many young single mothers end up on social welfare programs for single mothers. Estimates suggest 75% of teenage single mothers will be on social welfare programs for single mothers at least five years after the birth of their first child.
Getting public assistance can be humiliating for many young mothers, and there is a lot of discrimination in the workplace against young single mothers. The attitude of the young single mother facing these circumstances is to have faith in herself while being willing to get help when she needs it. She must have a thick skin with an open mind to reach out and begin to establish a support system for herself and her child.
Develop Persistence
While it may be difficult, to persistence in getting an education after one has a child is paramount if she is the sole provider for her family. A young single mother's attitude must be a mixture of persistence and faith. She must be persistent in finding creative ways to manage her responsibilities while planning for the future of her family and have faith in herself that she can do it.
Establish Goals And Follow Through
The ability to plan for the future takes some degree of optimism. While the incidence of depression for single mothers is 40% greater than her married counterparts, a single mother has to take responsibility for her future and set some goals for her education and job training to better her circumstances.
Develop Courage
After establishing goals and being persistent in getting her and her child's needs met, the single mother will need to have the courage to face a life that has no guarantees. A young single mother's attitude must be courageous if she is to succeed at all. She may work hard and encounter many obstacles in her way. Every step forward may be difficult and some steps will be backwards. The only way to succeed, however, is to take those steps while building her skills, confidence and self-esteem, sometimes one day at a time.
Teen-Single-Mothers Online News
Plea to help single moms has a lasting impact at Baldwin-Wallace: Margaret ... - Plain Dealer
 Plain Dealer | Plea to help single moms has a lasting impact at Baldwin-Wallace: Margaret ... Plain Dealer This college claims to support students, she wrote, so why don't we back that promise up by going out on a limb for single parents? She suggested converting a campus building into a residence for single moms, and channeling existing financial aid ... |
Help us help ourselves, say Swaziland's young single mothers - Newstime Africa
Help us help ourselves, say Swaziland's young single mothers Newstime Africa But young single mothers are even worse off than the average women in Swaziland. Teenage mothers account for over a third of all pregnancies in Swaziland, but they receive little or no help from the government, their families or communities. |
Different Anti-Poverty Programs, Same Single-Mother Poverty - Dollars & Sense
Different Anti-Poverty Programs, Same Single-Mother Poverty Dollars & Sense The September report showed the poverty rate for single mothers and their children rose as well: from 32.5% in 2009 to 34.2% in 2010. It is remarkably hard to be the primary caregiver and garner enough income to support a family. |