Challenging children and the single parent
Recently I went back to work as a consultant. Nice work if I can get it. It allows me to work flexible hours so that I can take my son to doctor appointments or music therapy. Problem is, those flexible hours translate into hours at night and on the weekend, checking email, researching on the Internet, returning phone calls, etc.
But I have an advantage. I'm not a single parent. For those who are single parents, the consequences of inattention are far greater.
This week, we announce the return of Naomi from Tales of a Single Parent. Naomi promises to become one of our regular contributors to Single Parenting, a new feature to the A Wild Ride Web site starting in February.
My thought is parents in general are working harder than ever and have huge family responsibilities and many single parents have side businesses to make extra money. Our kids are essentially work orphans. If it weren't the BlackBerry, it would be regular old email on the computer or paperwork from the office, so either way you slice it; work sometimes puts us in a position where we orphan our kids; not intentionally though - it's just part of being in the rat race. Things occur without you really noticing they have happened.
I believe the key is balance. Unless you've struck it rich and all of a sudden have a major check coming your way (if you do I totally envy you and I DO accept donations) we all have to work to pay bills and to take care of our family. But we can add more balance to our lives so that we don't allow work/smartphones to contribute to orphaning our kids.
If you have made your kids BlackBerry Orphans, make a pledge to yourself to find and add more balance to your life and learn to TURN OFF THE FREAKIN' BLACKBERRY!!! (heck, if I can do it anyone can).
Don't worry; your kids still love you.
Naomi 'GeekyCyberMom', a single mom of 2 gorgeous girls, an all around geeky tech girl, social media enthusiast and technology & creative marketing consultant. Naomi is also the creator/host/producer of Tales of a Single Parent Podcast, the founder and manager of the blogs - GeekyCyberMom, Fearless TEK and Tales of a Single Parent.
To stay updated on all projects Naomi is working on visit GeekyCyberMom.
Comments
being a single parent is not easy ...single parenting teaches them to be independent and multitasking. They realize and understand the child’s need in a better way.:)
Posted by: pooja | January 29, 2008 1:26 AM