Single Parent Advice - Activities
One day you wake up and you’re a single parent, the reason why is not important. What is important is what do you do and how do you do it. I have been a single parent going on 12 years now. I have searched for single parenting books to only be disappointed each time. I found books but they were written by either professionals, singles with no children or married people who believe they know what the right thing to do is. In addition some books stated ideals for what to do with your child/children but what they forgot was single parents don't always have the money or the time for most of their ideas. I personally and believe others who go for a book on this subject want to be told the truth and are looking for ideas and knowledge that they can use in their everyday life so this is "The Real Deal" on single parenting.
A majority of single parents are poor. If you are one of the lucky ones to carry more than 1.84 in your bank account after pay day, I salute you. Time to yourself, this consists only when your child/children are sleeping. Vacations, well if you’re lucky enough to be able to save for it, that is awesome but for everyone else you now should be considering going to work your vacation. Your privacy and personal time, just throw all that to the side for now. You are going to work to stay afloat and give your child/children everything they need and want.
When my child was younger and now, I always try to find things we could do for free or really cheap. You can only ride bikes, take walks and go to the park so many times. I found many free or donation only activities in my area. Most large colleges have donation only museums. Small towns sometimes have local museums that are under 7.00 for adults with free admission for children. If you have means to use the Internet, searching for deals to places is always a good idea. In my area we have children's play places that offer half off admission during certain times of the day. If you take the time you can find a lot of fun activities to do in your surrounding area that will not break the bank.
Now the above are ideas for things to do when you have large blocks of time but what do you do during the week when you only have 20 minutes for quality time. I find that after we eat dinner, complete chores and finish the homework we have about 30 minutes or so before bedtime. What I have found to be effective is short games. Investing in quick games is a great way to get some one on one time with your child/Children. Some ideas are Card games (go fish and solitaire), board games (children picture othello, UNO and checkers), small puzzles or reading to name a few things. Just make sure what you choose can be finished in the allotted time.
Next time we will talk about chores and the inevitable question children ask... Where is my allowance?
