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Single parenting and dating


Single parenting is one of the hardest, if not the hardest responsibility one can take on because it involves sacrifice, time, and other factors that come in play with this great task. I can attest to this not because I'm a single parent but because for most of my life, I was raised by my mother. I saw first hand what she went through to mold me into the man I am now. That being said, I have the most respect for single parents who are dedicated in raising their children. Although, single parenthood is as difficult and time tasking as I aforementioned, single parents deserve love and as such engage in dating. When it comes to dating, we can all agree that both parties need to understand where each other is coming from in order for the relationship to work. This also applies to single parents and who they decide to date. Over the years, the percentage of women or men who are single parents has increased about 60 percent from 1976 till date. This means in today's society, it is common to come across  single parents when it comes to dating. Parenting was never meant to be a solo responsibility so you can only imagine the difficulty that comes with single parenting. When it comes to dating, single parents need to be considerate of the people they date especially in a case when those people are non single parents or have no child or children of their own. Single parents need to understand that in most cases, the people they date who have no child or children of their own have to adjust their life, goals, priorities and interests to accommodate the new blended relationship especially when the said relationship becomes more serious. Dating a single parent is more difficult and more challenging than dating a non single parent as the child involved is always put first above anything that applies to dating. On the other hand, it is also pertinent that one who has no child of their own considers all these factors that are applicable to dating single parents. If it is not worth it, it's better not to start a relationship with a single parent. It's better to be petty or choose not to be in a relationship with a male or female who is a single parent than being frustrated with all the sacrifices that you will have to make to accommodate the single parent and their child/children.
Take this as an example, a friend shared with me an experience with dating a single parent that did not go so well and how he was controlling and aggressive with her even when she was loving to him and his child. Along with other things I discussed with her, one thing that I remember from what we discussed was that he needed to treat her better and even go a step further especially for the sacrifices she made to be with him (accommodating a third party not originally affiliated to her, the drama that may come from the estranged mother of the child etc). Although, being with a single parent may bring the most joy to the other party due to the possibility of forming a bond with the child or children in question, it could also go the other way and position someone in the line of fire, metaphorically speaking.
That being said, single parents do also sacrifice when it comes to dating especially if they are really involved in the relationship. The bottom line is for each party to understand fully what it entails dating a single parent and a non single parent. This brings clarity to the path that needs to be taken vis-a-vis considering the genesis of a relationship or formulating an exit plan.
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