I work in the field of education and am exposed to MANY children throughout the day. I also have witnessed their interactions with their parents. Please believe me when I say that having 2 parents is NO guarantee of a safe, stable, nurturing home. I have also encountered single parents that have been extraordinary in their efforts to raise their children well.

The Ozzie & Harriet myth of the 2 parent family must be let go. It is quality, not quantity that matters.

There are those who say that I am lonely. LOL… this couldn’t be farther from the truth. I am never lonely, because I can go on a date at anytime and with anyone… I have the freedom to choose and be happy than to be happy now and years down the line it dwindles and I’m asking where did my happiness go… or i’m locked down in a loveless marriage and I’m only staying for the kids… I’m extremely happy… some people will see this as rambling and off topic, but this is coming from the heart of a HAPPY SINGLE PARENT!

My Father was left to take care of 3 girls and 1 boy after my Mother died. I was only 2.

I was searching for information on Fathers raising girls and came across this blog.

To Dad’s I would say it’s really super important to really convey the truth to their Daughters that she is like her Mom.. everything good that was in her Mom is in her. It’s not something a girl strives for but something that just is. Speaking to her potential of course. I wish my Father had been able to convey that to me. We recently had a conversation. I know my Father had always felt guilty in that he did all that he could but felt nothing he did was good enough. There were some things he could not be. He could not be my Mom. And I told my Dad, I completely understand you did everything you possibly could for us but you could not be my Mom. I needed a Mom.

I have been in search for resources for single dads and more specifically for dads raising daughters.

My Father was left to raise 4 kids on his own after my Mother died. He raised mostly girls.

To Dad’s raising girls on their own I cannot stress to you enough the importance of expressing to your Daughters that she is like her Mom, beautiful like her Mom and all that is good within her Mom is in her. It is very important to make that connection as something not strived for but rather just is. I wish my Father had been capable of conveying that truth to me.

When I was in grade 1 or 2 my schoold had made the decision to have my class boycott Father’s Day because most of my classmates did not have a Father. My teacher saw me and my twin brother and said, “When a Father is all these 2 kids have I will not take away the one thing they have left
and so we are going to celebrate Father’s Day.”

Back when I was kid I wish people had recognized my Father’s position and had supported him. I wish our church community understood me growing up without a Mother and the challenges that I faced as well as what my Father had faced. I know my Father is guilt ridden because he just couldn’t do enough for me but the truth is there were some things he couldn’t do for me. As I even told him … “you did all that you could for me but I needed a Mom and you couldn’t be my Mom.”