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SPIN, which stands for Single Parents INformed, INvolved, INcluded, is an initiative in collaboration with the National Council of Social Service. It matches members with befrienders who provide practical and socio-emotional support, as well as offer respite services and parenting workshops and activities.
- Overview
- Becoming a single dad
- Concerns for single parents
- Resources for single dads
- Takeaway
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Being a single parent is tough — there’s no debate there. But better understanding the challenges faced by solo parents can help us to offer better support to the many who find themselves taking on this role.
While the majority of solo parents are single mothers, up to 2.6 million families in the United States are headed by single dads. However, the research on single fathers is limited, with many studies focused on comparing partnered parents to single mothers.
Single fathers may have a few advantages working in their favor. According to a Pew research report from 2013, single fathers are more likely to be living with a cohabiting partner (41 percent versus 16 percent), meaning they’re not always entirely on their own.
And in terms of education, income, and poverty, single fathers tend to be better off than single mothers, according to a 2015 review of the literature.
But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t challenges facing single dads. After all, much of society (still) views men as not actually up to the task of parenting solo. Women are assumed to be the caregivers. The nurturers. The keepers of the family and the house.
This can mean people may assume dads aren’t capable of basic parenting tasks. Conversely, it can lead to unnecessarily celebrating everything a single dad does — it can get old to see dads being idolized for simply grocery shopping with their kids, as if it’s a monumental achievement instead of just, well, life.
From breakups and divorces to being widowed or starting a family on your own, there are many paths to single parenthood.
In 2016, the U.S. Census Bureau found that of the 2 million single fathers in the United States, about 40 percent were divorced, 38 percent were never married, 16 percent were separated, and 6 percent were widowed. But the why doesn’t matter. Not really. What matters is what you do with your newfound role.
“The role of fathers has evolved,” says a 2013 Pew Research study. “And the public now acknowledges their importance not only as breadwinners, but also as caregivers.”
Whether you’re a single dad by choice or by circumstance, you’re part of a community that has its own unique challenges and demands.
Single parenthood is (for many) an uphill climb. Indeed, for all single parents there are stigmas to shatter and walls to knock down.
“Many single fathers bear the burden of not having the benefit of splitting parental responsibilities, housework, paying bills, etc.,” points out Matt Grammer — the founder and CEO of Kentucky Counseling Center.
Indeed, for both single fathers and single mothers, having to manage not only the parenting, but the finances and logistics of running a family solo is a daily challenge.
These pressures are likely to take precedence in their worries, but there are other aspects of single parenthood that might be less expected.
Single parents may be criticized by those who view two-parent households as the ideal. Single dads may hear rude, off-the-cuff comments, like suggestions that they’re babysitting.
Even previously supportive family members may suddenly act as if their single status means they aren’t capable of providing everything their children need.
While being a single dad is tough, you don’t have to do it alone. There are many resources available for single fathers and their children.
•The National Parent Hotline offers information for single dads.
•Project Fatherhoood connects fathers to support and education.
•The National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse — or NRFC — provides, facilitates, and disseminates research and information to encourage and strengthen the father-child bond. The DadTalk Blog section of their website also includes parental advice.
•The National Fatherhood Initiative aims to expand parental involvement by removing many of the challenges and stereotypes men face.
•Finally, there are single father support groups scattered throughout the country. Just type in your location on Meetup to find a group in your city. You can also find single dad groups on Facebook or other social media.
While being a single parent is hard, it isn’t impossible. With help, hope, and perseverance, single parents can do amazing things.
But change doesn’t just start from within. In order for single fathers to become the men they should be (and the men their children deserve), society needs to change its perception of single parents. Because single dads are capable, they are competent, and they need support too.
Learn about the unique challenges and benefits of being a single dad, from coping with divorce or loss to finding support and resources. This web page offers advice, research, and links for single fathers and their children.
Jun 16, 2019 · CNA Insider. Grit and a whole lot of love: When single fathers rise to the challenge. One parent rediscovers what it is to truly be a father after a traumatic divorce, another has been raising...
Feb 1, 2019 · Single fathers attempting to secure care and control of their children: Unmarried single fathers; Divorcing single fathers; and. Adopting single fathers. Single fathers who have secured care and control of their children: Unmarried single fathers; and. Divorced/widowed single fathers.
- Nadia Moynihan
Feb 20, 2023 · Being a single dad is a challenge and a reward, and it's different for everyone. Learn from the experiences of other single dads who share their stories, struggles, and successes on DaddiLife, the parenting website for dads.
Single Father is a four-episode 2010 BBC television drama centred on Dave (David Tennant), a photographer attempting to look after his children as a single father after the death of his partner, Rita (Laura Fraser), in a road traffic accident.
Oct 19, 2022 · Are you a single dad? Raising kids all by yourself? Want to raise them in the best possible way, right? Being a single mother is a huge challenge indeed. But with humility and respect for womanhood, it can be said that being single and raising kids for a single father is equally challenging.
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