How to Balance Work and Parenting as a Single Parent

The United States ranked 28th on a list of 36 developed countries in work-life balance in 2013, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's Better Life Index, partly due to the struggle faced by its numerous single parents who have less free time than do single parents in most other countries. Timothy Casey and Laurie Maldonado, in a 2012 report compiled for women̵7;s legal defense and education fund Legal Momentum, conclude that the U.S. provides single parents with less help than other developed countries when it comes to balancing job-holding and care-giving. It may seem like an ongoing struggle to keep your career on track, care for your family and still find time to breathe, but, once you're able to set priorities and relax a bit, you can learn to enjoy the ride.

Instructions

    • 1

      Arrange for a more flexible work schedule, if this is possible with your job. A report published by the Society for Human Resource Management in 2009 found that the rise of single-parent families is among the factors driving the ongoing shift toward a more flexible workplace. Look into solutions such as telecommuting, shift work, flexible work hours, or, should finances permit, transitioning to a part-time position or a job share arrangement.

    • 2

      Plan your work and family time so they don't overlap and neither one takes away from the other. When you're at work, focus on the job at hand. When you're with your children, enjoy their company and make the most of the time you share together. Set clear boundaries between the two, and communicate those boundaries to both co-workers and children. Make it clear to your kids that, when you're at work, you have a job you need to do and they should only interrupt you in case of emergencies. Explain to your co-workers that you will work your agreed schedule, but that non-work hours belong to your family. This means you will not be able to stay late, nor will you be answering work-related calls or emails while you're at home.

    • 3

      Outsource your household duties whenever possible so the time you do spend at home can be family time, not chore time. Hire a maid service to clean, if you can afford it, or try a barter arrangement. For example, you could offer to help a college student study for exams or proofread a term paper in exchange for her preparing dinner or taking your kids to ballet lessons. Have your groceries delivered if you live in an area that offers this service, and purchase foods such as premixed salads, pre-chopped vegetables and precooked rotisserie chickens. Never feel guilty about bringing store-bought cookies to your kid's school bake sale. For all you know, they may outsell the other moms' home-baked creations anyway.

    • 4

      Take care of yourself. Trying to hold everything together and be the perfect employee and perfect parent can take its toll. If you expect too much of yourself, you run the risk of suffering from stress and even depression, and this, in turn, can lead to your kids suffering as well. If you feel pressured by having to go it alone as a single parent, seek support from friends, relatives or other parents -- single or married. Go online to find a support group if you don't have access to one in your community. Find some time, even if it's just a few minutes after the kids are in bed, to do the things you like to do. Take a long, leisurely soak in a hot tub, write in a journal, or curl up in bed with a glass of red wine and the latest best-seller. Relax, recharge your batteries and reward yourself for all your hard work.

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