Single parents unite

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Single parents unite

Being a single parent is never the easiest task at any time.

You may be a single parent through separation, divorce or even through the death of your much loved other half. Valentine's is not the season to be thinking about what you have lost.

Instead, pick yourself up and if you detest the thought of going through the dating process, go through your child's school network or even a carpool network to find other single parents in the same vicinity, who may have similar experiences and needs, and are ready to share.

Organize a get together in the form of a meal or even an activity such as a football match and you'll find that your feeling of "I am all alone in this" will disappear without you even noticing it.

You could come up with an activity for both adults and children or something completely separate for both parties to enjoy.

Depending on how many people are actually attending, the children could be kept entertained with a coloring competition, TV show or movies, whilst giving the adults a chance to mingle.

Bear in mind, this is also an excellent opportunity to find dates who are most definitely on the same wavelength as you. There is no chance of hearing the usual "Oh, I didn't realize you had children" which leaves you wondering if you will ever have another shot at happiness.

Even if you don't have the time or budget to organize something big, a simple movie meet with drinks at a local café afterwards should be sufficient to get the blues out of all your minds, whilst at the same time keeping the children occupied.

A good place would be MacDonald's, where the young ones have a playroom that you can supervise in pairs.

One other way of spreading some Valentine's cheer is to talk to your children's school and organize a little get-together on the school grounds after school hours.

It can be in the form of a pot luck meal or you may even try a charity bazaar filled with trinkets, food, clothing and accessories that would have you, and probably many other singles, too occupied to think about Valentine's single status.

Either way, this will take time and effort where planning is concerned, so start at least one month ahead. You can have the kids make posters or flyers to distribute. Having these made shouldn't be so difficult.

Speak to the art teacher who can make arrangements for each child to create a special Valentine-themed flyer or poster to take back home.

Don't leave the kids out of this and you will be surprised that they can contribute more than you think. Have them make clay ot felt hearts, or other decorative items that you can use to fill the area with when the actual day arrives. You may even include them in the bazaar articles to be sold or raffled out.

If you have the resources and the school is willing to co-operate there is no reason why you can't go about organizing a Valentine's play or a session for the children to express what Valentine's Day means to them. There is a good chance a few adults may learn a thing or two.

Whilst you don't want to get too engrossed thinking about being single during the Valentine's season, do not brush it off all together -- children need to know that Valentine's isn't all about the commercial aspect that they are so often exposed to.

A parent-child poetry-reading session or even reading out excerpts from particular books might give parents, children and other members of the group time to get closer to one another, and help everyone remember or understand that Valentine's is not necessarily only about roses, romantic dinners, and expensive gifts.

Keep the Valentine's theme but get busy in getting so many people involved, both young and old, that you can look at it as spreading cheer in more ways than one, and for a very good cause!

Love is in the air, just like spring, and it will come to each of us at the right time.

More about Valentines Day

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