Single dads struggle, facing adversities just like all other single parents.

You’re responsible for paying the bills, doing the chores, picking and dropping the kids off, bedtime stories, and making meals (learn about foods that make you happier here). God forbid, you throw in an attempt at a social life (most single parents don’t have one). On top of that, you’ve got to keep it together. 

You don’t have a partner to rely on when the going gets rough and it inevitably gets rough.

Let’s dive into specifics.

Single Father Struggles

Single dads deal with a lot of the same things single parents do. These are some of the most common challenges that arise for single dads. 

Work-Life Balance

When you’ve got to pay the bills and make it home to be there for your kids, achieving balance can be difficult. As a single dad, you might struggle to make ends meet causing you to overwork and feel guilt or shame for “neglecting” to spend time at home. Learning to juggle work and home life is a never-ending balancing act but one that’s worth trying to figure out. 

Discipline

When you’re the sole policer, you have to be the good cop AND the bad cop. Disciplining can present as an extra challenge when your kids are going through a hard time. If you are a newly single parent, disciplining might feel like the last thing on your mind. You want to spoil or soothe your child and may feel particularly sensitive yourself. However, continuing to discipline your children is important ESPECIALLY when life is chaotic. It provides stability – while everything around them might be changing, dad is still acting (somewhat) the same. 

Asking for Support

Single dads seem to have an extra hard time asking for support in comparison to single moms. This may be due to the expectation that men have fewer feelings and that asking for emotional support may be a sign of weakness. The truth is we all need to support at one point or another. Learning how to ask for help not only benefits your parenting skills (overstressed, overwhelmed, and upset usually doesn’t equal level-headed parenting choices), but also models to your kids that it’s okay to ask for help. Dad does it!

Are Single Dads Lonely?

This question is often asked in discussions about single fatherhood. Yes, being a single dad is lonely. However, there are ways to work yourself out of isolation (we’ll revisit this idea below).

How Do Single Dads Survive?

Just like any resilient human being, single dads figure it out and adjust. When you become a recently single dad, it will feel overwhelming. You may be grieving, angry, stressed out, and overwhelmed. But you aren’t alone. There are lots of single dads out there who understand EXACTLY how you feel. 

A Few Pieces of Obvious Advice

Give Yourself Some Credit

You aren’t perfect: you aren’t going to be a perfect parent and your kids are gonna mess up too. You might wish you had space from your kids, feel like a failure, and doubt your ability to do the whole parenting thing by yourself. That’s okay. You are a human with feelings! People don’t say parenting is hard for no reason and you’re doing it alone. Give yourself credit for doing it in the first place. 

Make Time for Yourself

People who don’t take time for themselves become depleted. This is definitely true for single parents. Obviously, finding time for yourself can be challenging, but you owe it to yourself to do so. Even if it’s just a walk around the neighborhood, a quiet cup of coffee, or a solo lunch date. You’ll thank yourself and find it easier to handle family fallouts. 

Find Other Single Dads

It’s not a secret that connecting with people who have similar experiences and lives to your own is a key to combating loneliness. When you spend time with other single dads, you’ll realize they struggle too! Plus, single dads have kids your kids can play with and those kids might be able to talk about the feelings they are having too. Find friends who get you and you can rely on when the inevitable arises. 

Resources

While the resources for single dads need work (as you probably know), here are some great resources that do exist. 

Project Fatherhood helps you as a single dad. They have classes and meet-ups and if they aren’t located in your neighborhood, they have informative publications. 

If you want a blog that covers everything for dads by dads DadTalk Blog has it all.

Single Dad provides dating advice for single dads, lawyer advice for single dads, and better dad advice for…you get the picture. 

If you need financial support, Get Government Grants covers LOTS of options. 

Want a filtered search for other single dads? MeetUp can help! Just enter your location and see what’s happening in your area with other singles, dads, or single dads!

Not finding anything helpful? National Parent Helpline provides an extensive list of compiled resources ranging from toddler development to crisis hotlines. 

Have other resources or advice? Share in the comments!