Are You Ready To Become A Single Parent?

The fact that it is difficult to be a father or mother is nothing new. But being a single parent, without a partner or person to help you get through your most difficult moments, can make it even more complicated.

Adoption is a common way to become a single parent. In vitro fertilization, assisted reproduction or using a surrogate mother (in some parts of the world) are also ways to start parenting.

You need to find out for yourself which option is best for you. But before you decide to have children, you really need to find out if you are ready to raise a child on your own. You should ask yourself some basic questions to be completely sure.

5 questions you should ask before you become a single parent

Why do you want a child?

A child should never come into the world just because their father or mother needs love. Nor to fix the parents’ own emotional problems. The love of the child is not a substitute for the love of a parent, a sibling, a partner or a friend.

The responsibility of the father and mother is to give a child all the love it needs. This without expecting anything in return… To do this, it is important that you love yourself.

Is your finances good enough?

Raising a child costs money, and anyone who claims not to do so is lying. It is important to earn enough money to support your new family.

It is difficult enough to financially support a family with two incomes, so you can imagine that it is even more difficult to do so with just one. Many times it is a challenge. This is why you need to make sure you have enough money coming in each month to raise a child.

Do you have a strong social network in your life?

You will definitely need help and it is not negotiable. It is not possible to do it yourself, even if you are single, and you have to accept it. You need help, especially if you are adopting a newborn, and in fact even if you are adopting an older child. This is because you have to adapt to your new life.

If you become pregnant through assisted reproduction or the like, you also need someone who can support you and relieve you sometimes.

If you do not have a partner, you need others who are willing to give you a helping hand when you need it. It can be about picking up the child from school, taking it to the dentist or simply taking care of it for a few hours when you need a break.

Having a social network is also crucial for your child to be able to receive constant love and attention, and that not all of this comes from you. It could be a grandparent, grandparents, friends, godparents or someone else who is important to you.

What is important is that this person is someone you can trust. Someone who can be there for you at three in the morning if there is an emergency. Which can give you a break for a few hours if you need to take a nap. Be a babysitter if you need to go to the doctor and can not take your child for any reason. A social network is indispensable in these moments.

Are you ready for your lifestyle to change forever?

Having a child changes your life forever. You will not be able to have the same lifestyle that you had until now. Life will never be the same again when someone whose life depends entirely on you enters your home and your heart.

Your schedule changes, your social life will never be the same again and you also have to make adjustments in your career… But if you really want to be a single parent, it does not matter.

Have you done everything you wanted to do alone?

Have you achieved all the goals you had for your life before taking this new step? If there are things you have wanted to do or personal goals that you have wanted to achieve, you need to decide if you have really achieved them. Or decide that it does not matter that you do not have it.

If there is something you want to experience before you become a single parent, maybe you should do it now. It becomes much more complicated to do it with a child.