Comments on: Secrets to Single Parent Success

By: deb

deb — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:35:15 +0000

I am a single mother with primary residence. their father works out of the country 6-10 months of the year, so I have them most of the time.
You could say my home looks very ‘lived in’ most of the time. I do like it when its all tidy, but I spend hours making it look clean and it takes very little time to undo it all with two kids, and I do home child care.
I try not to let it bother me, but my ex also is the kind to use any excuse to try and show I am a not a good parent. that’s always in the back of my mind, so I stress about it a bit .
I try to put him out of my mind, since he doesn’t come any where near me, but he always brings it up in dissagreements and asks the kids how things are and if I am feeding them good food and so on.
I feed them very well, not to say I never use frozen pizza’s or even canned soup on occation.
my kids are not great at chores, I am constantly asking them to clean their rooms and their toys. its a never ending battle.

By: PT-LawMom

PT-LawMom — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:45:35 +0000

I agree with SMS. I tend to have no problem letting things slide... until I get free time and then I find I have so many things to do that I try to cram everything in, none of which is something for me. Sigh... If I had my son only half the time, I tend to think I'd spend more time on chores. With only one night or perhaps a Saturday afternoon off, I usually take that time for sex or errands and save household chores for late night after my son's asleep. PT-LawMom´s last blog post..Losing my shit

By: dadshouse

dadshouse — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 01:10:26 +0000

I don’t reward grades. Instead, I try to teach my kids to feel good about doing their best, and to understand the long-range benefits of good grads and hard work. I don’t want my son deciding “I don’t need money this semester, so I won’t try hard in this one class.”

As for chores – my son kicks ass over his sister. He works way harder, does more jobs by choice, and gets paid more than her. And he gloats every pay day.

By: Honey

Honey — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:57:09 +0000

Usually the dishes slide--or, pile up, more accurately--until the weekend. However, I am a compulsive cleaner and once I get started I usually don't stop, so the house usually looks pretty darn good! I like Cathouse Teri's idea of a list of above-and-beyond chores that kids could do for extra money. However, I do think that chores and such in exchange for an allowance is actually like a salary. Growing up, my dad gave us an allowance in exchange for doing all our chores (like a salary) and "bonuses" if we got good grades. This worked well until I got all A's and my sister didn't...at which point my sister said it "wasn't fair" and he scrapped the whole thing. Um, life's not fair? How do you adjust your rewards based on fairness, DM? Honey´s last blog post..He Ripped My Clothes Off!

By: Mike Talkovsky

Mike Talkovsky — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 02:44:59 +0000

Hey Dad – I like your attitude – I did one better – just stopped watering the lawn altogether – it’s a draught year – you save on water – let the neighbors think what they will. I have one kid all the time, except when she is in school. I do have a cleaning service.

By: SDMktg

SDMktg — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:47:56 +0000

My first year with my kids in my apartment half of the time the place was spotless. Cleaning and organizing was how I killed the time when they weren't there. Of course I also never got to bed before 3. Once I got past that things started to slip and spending time at my girlfriend's place gives me even less time to clean up. It's amazing how much stuff accumulates in a year. I really need to get rid of old clothes, toys, and paperwork a couple of times a year but I never seem to find the time. I do cook for the kids most of the time when they are with me and they are starting to help. Having 3 nights a week to myself is nice. It's almost easier when their mom is on vacation though because we get into a groove when they're at "our home" the whole time. SDMktg´s last blog post..Sweet G's Shot of the Week - Scooby Snacks

By: Solomon King

Solomon King — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 08:08:23 +0000

Since I'm not even a parent, I feel awkward commenting here, but, I let tonnes of stuff slide all the time, until it became a habit. Now I'm trying to make things slide less. I moved about a month ago and still have stuff stashed away in boxes all over the place. Solomon King´s last blog post..ten random things I’ve learnt from facebook