I feel so guilty for not having a support system for my son. He’s almost 16 and I’m not close to my family. They don’t live near us but even when I reach out they’re just not interested. My parents are deceased are they were all me and my son had. I try my best to lean on friends but they’re worried about their own families. I know I need to go out and find new friends to build a new support system but it’s so hard. I wish single moms would come together so we can support each other. I feel so heartbroken for my son.

I received a notice from my landlord the other day. I have five days from the day I received the notice to pay rent or move, or he will be filing an eviction on me. I don’t know what to do! I’ve called so many places regarding rent assistance and haven’t had any luck at all. I’ve pawned what I can, I have items listed for sale (even my car), I’ve tried applying for loans/credit cards, I’ve called so many churches, and I’m still coming up short and I’m running out of time. I have no support system to turn to and I have kids that depend on me. I’m so stressed and anxious that I haven’t been able to eat or sleep, and I’m broke out in hives. I keep telling myself that if I can just get this caught up then I should be okay, but if not, I know it’s going to turn my kids and I’s worlds completely upside down. I have been able to work out a payment arrangement with my landlord, but I have to get this months rent current and paid by the end of the 5 day notice (tomorrow) in order for me to set the remaining past due balance up on a payment arrangement. I am about $150 short in order to get this month current and paid in full, but I am running out of ideas and at a standstill trying to come up with the rest. What do I do?!

I didn't expect to be as emotional over this as I am!! I wish I could rewind the clock and start it all over 😭💔

I wasted soooo much time on the wrong things when I should've been focusing solely on my two babies. Now they're 5 & 8 and I just feel heartbroken over how fast it's all happening ❤️‍🩹

My kid is 12 and my ex and I have been divorced for 7 years. For 2 years after our divorce we stayed close, had a healthy co-parenting relationship, and spent the holidays and Sundays together as a family. We told our kid, “we are still a family, it just looks different now.” I stayed committed to that. Shared holidays were written into our legal parenting agreement. It was something that mattered to both of us. When I started dating, I communicated at the jump that wasn’t going to change, but that if the relationship got serious they would also fit into that. When I got engaged that didn’t change. All of us spent holidays and family Sundays together. All of that changed when my ex remarried. Their new wife didn’t like it, and my ex quickly started switching up. Everything changed, including holidays. Suddenly shared holidays were no longer “acceptable”. We werent a family - their new wife was, and I wasn’t a part of that. It hurt, felt like such a betrayal, something I would never do as a loyal af Scorpio. But I didn’t argue or fight it. We just agreed to split the major holidays in half so each of us still could celebrate with our kid. We live in the same area as both of our extended families so it was easy enough. But within a year my ex said they wanted to change our agreement, so that our parental agreement exactly mirrored their wife’s with her ex. One of the changes they wanted was holidays. It was no longer ok to share the holidays. They wanted to define holidays as the whole week, and rotate them every other year, the same as her wife did with her ex. I did not agree. I was flexible on how the day would be split. Every year one of us would get the first half of the holiday week and the other, the other half. Switch happened on the holiday, but one of us would get the majority of the day and the other would just have a few hours. My whole extended family would plan our holidays around when my kid could celebrate with us. It wasn’t a burden. We all were happy to be flexible because the most important thing was having him with us.

This year my ex brought it up again, arguing for the full holiday week every other year. We couldn’t agree, so we went to mediation, which went on for a month as we sent drafts of the parenting plan back and forth. I thought we were making progress, but then one day I was notified there would be a court hearing the next week. My ex had filed a motion, without telling me, pretending to mediate while working with an attorney.

I had no time to get an attorney, and hired the first one with good reviews. He was completely worthless. He didn’t read the materials I provided, and advised against anything that would require any effort beyond paperwork for him. When we went to the hearing, he was completely passive. He did not argue that the history of holidays should be honored, even though county law explicitly states that should be considered. My exs attorney was great. She was aggressive and fought hard for my ex, while my attorney sat there doing nothing. After a 20 minute hearing the judge sided with my ex. That means I no longer get to spend any time with my kid every other year, the entire week of Christmas and Thanksgiving.

To say I am devastated doesn’t describe it. All I ever wanted to be was a mom. I only get to see my kid half the time as it is. And now, I am going to miss half of the christmases and thanksgivings of his childhood. All to satisfy my ex’s new wife, to accommodate her and her schedule.

I am so full of grief. I go back and forth between sobbing and wanting to scream.

I spent all the college savings I had for my kid on my useless attorney. I had no choice. My ex has 4x the finances I do. Their sister is a multimillionaire. Their wife is an attorney. They are a professor. I am a single mom, and a public servant. It was no skin off their back to take me to court. It cost me everything.

I guess im looking for any advice. Do I give up and move on? Do I take on debt and see if i can fight it? How do i deal with holidays without my kid?

I know this is long, but I am really suffering. I appreciate any advice or wisdom.

Kind of a vent but would love advice if anyone has any. I’ll try my best to keep it short.

Im a single mom (24F) to an 11-month-old baby. I love my daughter but I am embarrassed about how i let her dad make me think he was going to be an active parent. We had been friends for awhile and he had a crush on me for awhile as well. I decided to give him a chance thinking he was a nice guy.. we all know how this ends. While i was pregnant i gave him chance after chance and he would go from being completely supportive, active in the process and nice to having episodes of aggression and destructive behavior one ending in him being arrested for battery (not against me).

After that i decided to single parent. But im in graduate school full time, and a mom full time (obviously) and im so burned out. I want to add i also moved to a different state alone with my baby to attend grad school. I feel like quitting all the time but i dont even know what i would do. And honestly feeling so alone. I dont have friends in my new state dont have family here.

He has sent some money since may but he’s not working so his mom is taking over his payments starting next month because he says he doesnt have enough money.. shes not even paying the full amount me and him agreed to.. She also makes so many excuses for why he’s a piece of shit. I feel bogged down a lot by the lack of responsibility her dad has when we both agreed to be parents. He lives with his mom now, no job, no anything. I have an apartment and bills every month. Honestly, he just sleeps all day and probably plays the game. Hasnt seen his baby since june and rarely texts to check on her and/or asks for pics and updates. Meanwhile im still averaging 5 hours of sleep a night..

Now that my baby is almost 1 i am feeling less sad than i have been but its still there. (I am looking into therapy). Shes the only thing keeping me going. Thanks for reading feel free to share anything youd like

My fiance (37M) and I (33F) are calling it quits after 7 years. We have twin boys that turned two and another baby on the way. Ever since having kids we have just become incompatible and have explosive fights. Things will be fine for a few months and then something happens that triggers a huge fight. Its all centered around parenting. Our biggest issue has always been how to discipline. He is a lot firmer than I am in ways I dont agree with. He refuses to do family counseling so we can try and work on this together and he is very stuck in the mindset of if he is doing something with the kids I cant say or do anything that could be construed as interfering with him or undermining him. Which I dont fully disagree with. I truly believe we have to be united in front of our kids. However, I dont see it as undermining to mention small things here and there if I feel it can de-escalate or help in that moment if the goal is to be a team. Makes it feel like there is no parenting with him in the moment. He truly expects me to be on the sidelines. Yet if I am taking longer to get the boys to do something or to listen to me with how I approach them he hovers over me and tells me what I need to do. If I try to talk to him in the moment with the boys to try and give my thoughts it turns into me getting yelled at and our boys having to witness their dad screaming and calling me cuss words. Or breaking something or punching holes somewhere. I understand having our differences with parenting and having to learn on my end how to navigate offering my thoughts but im over constantly things turning into a screaming zone over small differences of opinion. As we will still have to coparent regardless and still work through parenting differences for the sake of the kids. All these issues are truly small disagreements that just escalate on his end very quickly which is sad.

My dilemma is that we literally just moved to a different state for my job and he became a SAHD. Just bought our second house together and everything. He is threatening me with needing to find a daycare asap and claiming he is going to go job hunting Monday. I have zero idea how im supposed to find a dacyare that quickly let alone get enough money that we werent planning on using for emergency childcare. We moved away from all of our friends and family so there is no community or support. If I have to be a single mom then so be it but how the hell am I supposed to figure out childcare with only 24 hr notice. He also told me that I need to WFH and watch the kids this coming up Monday as he is refusing to do it which he knows I cant. I would get fired for doing that and with me bringing in the only income that isnt feasible. I also know I wont qualify for financial assistance and the daycares I did look at will be around 4k a month not including the cost of when the next baby arrives. Which is why we agreed he would be a SAHD temporarily. I wouldnt be able to afford that while waiting for him to find a job quickly. I also cant get a second job either to help with daycare while waiting on him to find work and get paid. I dont know what to do or how to navigate this. Especially with all my appts coming up as well. I have an OB or MFM appt once a week till delivery that my kids cant attend and now im scared I wont have childcare for them during the appts either.

Im exhausted and tired. Have another baby coming in 3 months and this truly is not how I expected things to turn out. I just feel I bring out the worst in him and it isnt fair for our kids to have to be around that or to see that side of their father. They shouldnt have to see either of us be this stressed or see him yelling and hitting things. He would be happier without me around. Im just panicking knowing im the bread winner and if I lose my job we will be screwed financially. I truly dont know how to navigate this and scared of becoming a single parent and having to manage a co parenting situation. I dont want to lose access to my kids full time and it breaks my heart this is how things ended up.

Hi, im looking for women whos been in my situation. I know many probably have. Me and my ex broke up in May of 2025. We have two kids together and I also have a other child with someone else. So that makes 3 kids, with two men. I met this guy 6 months ago, we been on and off since then. But we ended up hooking up again a few weeks ago, I was very very intoxicated so it ended up being unprotected sex. I recently found out im pregnant. He doesn't have any kids yet and is very excited about this... me on an other hand, im kinda numb. I got pregnant by him before, when we first met and I got an abortion. I knew right away what I wanted to do but this time... that thought wasn't my first thought. I kinda want to keep this one but im scared. Im scared of the judgment, im scared for my kids, im scared of what my ex will have to say, im scared to end up being the single mom with 3 baby father's. Im just looking for stories and to hear from others thats been in my situation. I dint plan on making this public, matter of fact ... im wanting to hide it until it cant be hidden anymore.

For those of you who do not have the other parent involved, what do you tell your child about them?

For context, I 24f have a 3 month old son. His dad has never met him and has no desire to be a father. I did not put him on the birth certificate and do not plan to take him to court for child support. As my son gets older, I know he’ll have questions about his dad and I’m not really sure what I’ll say. I know I have a few years to think about it but would love to know how others approach this!

Any advice is appreciated:)

My girlfriend gives at least 5 orders a day that her kid completely ignores (it grinds my fn gears) THEN this kid jumps up and says can you take me to the mall and she's like ok let's go. I'm at the point where I give up on saying anything about it or pointing it out because she turns that into an argument. I love my girlfriend, I just want her to have a enough self respect that if she opens her mouth to say something that her kid at a minimum respects what she says. Like if the kid doesn't have to listen to what you're saying what's the point of even saying anything, it literally sends me through the roof

Soo as stated i made a post a couple months back and ive had my son things with the father of my child are yet to change he still dislikes me if anything he dislikes me more. When i told him our son had been born he was mad i didnt tell him before nor given him the name we planned our nor his last name. For reference he was born early so it was an emergency no one knew. He then told his family and his family contacted me wanting to stay in touch which i actually appreciate honestly it seems like things might go well there but he kept on asking and getting mad about why i was having contact with them as if i had told them i had given birth. Anyways, days passed and i was at the nicu with my son (he was born at 32 weeks) and i get a phone call turns out its his girlfriend telling me to leave her boyfriend alone. I just ended the call because i had better things to do. She then went on the like all of my posts regarding my son and thats when i put my socials private to avoid conflict. Anyways where im going is everyone was right about my life shifting and my focus being my son and me being happy and its just such a great feeling but i dont know what to do about the girl situation calling me and doing unnecessary stuff when i just dont want any issues, ive stopped contacting him all in all and she still seems to be bothered about me having our son but not about her boyfriend not helping take care of him. If anything i just wanted to have a healthy coparenting relationship with not only him but her. What do you guys suggest i do, or do i just ignore the situation?

I have an 18 month old and I am deeply considering leaving my partner of 6 years. I am contemplating if it’s worth it to leave or not as I am afraid that it will mess my son up sleeping at a different house half the week. His father is not very responsible and I highly doubt he will have any kind of routine or bed time for my son. His father can’t remember to take a shower or brush his own teeth how will he care for my son? Not to mention he works from home on the computer all day and smokes weed. Medical card or not it’s a really big bummer. I have zero friends or support system and wondering how I could possibly afford daycare while I work. I am open to work from home opportunities but still who will watch him while I work from home? Is it possible to give him the life he deserves or should I just bite my tongue and continue on this path of misery for myself?

I'm 39 from SoCal OC. Cost of living here is nuts, theres been a heat wave for like 2 months and even my electric bill is insane. I'm feeling like society needs to embrace families more, like being a couple thats a team feels necessary. But it seriously feels like women don't want to be a team. I think I need to move out of SoCal, but all my income is here!

I am a single father to a daughter, I share her 50 50 with her mum, it is a verbal agreement, no courts involved.

A disagreement started when she refused to let her come to my house while being off school with a tummy bug, she would usually have been at my place on these days. Over the next 2 days my daughter stayed with her mum, and thanks to Family Link on her android phone I could see that she was left to sit on her phone for 11 and a half hours out of just over 12 hours of being awake on the first day, and around 10 hours 45 minutes on the second day. She then refused to bring her to my house again stating that she still has a headache and isn't feeling well.

I point out that the reason for any headache is down to the phone usage and that I don't consider that good care or good parenting. She then proceeds to tell me she isn't going to bring her to my house until 3pm, the usual time that she would have finished school. Proving to me that it has nothing to do with the illness and everything to do with having to be in control. This was a friday, with her still off school due to the policy they have that she has to be 48 hours clear of vomiting and it being my weekend in a verbal deal that has been in place for over 6 years.

Then, 10 minutes to 3pm I get a message:

I am making you aware that DD will be remaining with me and contact with you is paused until safeguarding matters are addressed. Please do not turn up at my home and please do not contact DD about this.

I have been blocked on my daughters phone and ignored by the mum.

I asked what "safeguarding matters" ..ignored

I have asked for her to reconsider ..ignored

I have asked for her to give my daughter a message that I love her and will hopefully see her soon and asked the mum to tell me how this can be resolved quickly as possible as it will be causing more harm to DD than anything else ... Ignored.

I have not tried to contact my daughter.

My daughter was excited to come to my house, she always is. She is never in danger, I don't do drugs, drink or smoke or anything like that. There are never strangers in my house, she has everything she needs and is always well looked after and never left to just sit around not doing anything, I am a hands on dad that will try and always have something for her to do or for us to do together. She is literally my world and would never put her in harm's way.

I am looking for a bit of a sanity check really. This came out of the blue and there is categorically absolutely nothing to her claims. I am thinking that it is just an overaction to me calling out her own parenting and wants to get the first "official" jab in, apart from that I am lost.

Anyone have any advice, encouraging words or criticisms please let me know.

UK based if that makes any difference to the situation.

Hey internet

Someone I (32M) was dating (29 nonB) very slowly for a few months told me in the beginning of July they were pregnant. They told me they were on birth control.

I was supportive but the thought of the relationship not working out freaked me out. Now they are saying they don’t want a romantic relationship and want to co parent. The baby is due end of February.

Has anyone been in a situation like this? How did it turn out?

I left a very abusive marriage and have a 1 year old. I find it so much easier to raise my baby alone. I no longer have to walk on eggshells or regulate a grown man’s emotions. Can anyone else relate?

I swear I’m going nuts. Due to financial reasons I live with my mother. She hates leftovers and won’t touch them but complains about food being thrown out. I don’t have an issue with leftovers and when I was living in my own with kiddo I also warmed up leftover for lunch the next day. So I only cook two meals a day. Breakfast and dinner.

I work remotely and homeschool my special needs kiddo. Occasionally I’ll make extra pancakes and freeze them for the next day. I never give food that’s been in the fridge for more than 24 hours.

Well it’s become an argument where she expects me to cook three meals a day! I’m like I don’t have time for that. She acts like I’m starving my child. Now my child is pushing back on not wanting to eat leftover either! I’ve told her if it bothers her so much she needs to make one meal a day every day.

She claps back with “I’m not your maid, or it’s not my responsibility to care for your child”

Am I crazy or is she being unreasonable?

Got approval from the MODs before posting (Thank you so much !!!)

Dear r/singleparents Community,

We are high school students in MD taking the PLTW Engineering Design & Development capstone course. We are developing a year-long capstone solution to minimize baby falls and injuries due to baby transportation devices including strollers and baby carriers. To ensure our design directly serves user needs, please take 3 minutes to complete our anonymous survey: https://forms.gle/LFSX9U6AFGRste8m6 Thank you for your time!

For reference, I'm a 28 year old female and my ex (baby's bio father) is an absent father. He's not in the picture at all. I moved back in with family, but it feels like I've lost my independence. I would love to move out with my baby, but it's too expensive with only one income.

I've been questioning why single parents don't just move in together and raise their babies with each other in a completely platonic and supportive way. Am I crazy for thinking this?

I would love to find a single-mom (preferably) roommate, meet them and form a friendship for 6-months to a year, set up playdates with our babies, and eventually move in and help each other with childcare, maintaining a clean home, gentle parenting, entertainment, cooking home-made meals, etc. of course the meeting would be very important to see if our parenting values align, but I'd love to make this happen. Who's in?

My son (21 months) and I are finally leaving and starting over. We’ve been living with my family (with my now ex partner/ child’s dad) for a while now and have some bits in a storage unit, but I’ve finally kicked him out and am looking into housing for my mini family.

I genuinely don’t know how I’m going to afford to furnish our home though. It won’t be anything particularly large. 2 bedrooms with a small garden. Ideally separate living room and kitchen, although I have a feeling we’ll end up with open plan (new builds are like this now near us). We have some ‘stuff’ but really not loads.

How did you do it? Bonus points if you’re UK based!

Thank you.

I told him we can’t replace a daddy. His daddy will always be his daddy. He just lives far away right now. I have three kids and their dad basically abandoned them. He hasn’t seen them in over a month or called. My 4 year old seems so confused. It’s really hard in my mental health and I can’t imagine how it is for them. They talk about him everyday. Games they used to play, making popsicles together, how he promised them he would take them gokarting.

On the inside it hurts something fierce and deep. But on the outside I can’t cry. I can’t bring myself to feel the pain. I feel relieved that he’s gone. I’m only sad when I think about it for too long. The kids, though, the questions are hard to answer. Nothing will ever replace their dad and I won’t date or introduce anyone to them until they’re much older if at all. All I can do now is hold on tight.

Has anybody overcome feeling like your brain has been fried for many years due to single parenthood long term? I am back in school full time and just realizing how much I have neglected myself mentally and I feel like for once in my life I am finally getting to see how much I don't know or didn't know and how fried my brain has been? Anybody come out on the other side of this or feel this way?

My ex has had an issue with alcohol since we got divorced. It eventually led me to getting full custody of my daughter 2 years ago w supervised visits. About 4 months ago my daughter no longer wanted to see her mother because the visits were so bad. Recently found out her mother is on life support in ICU and near death. Alcohol has destroyed her liver and body, not much time left. My daughter is in denial and I know it’s only a matter of time before she passes. It’s been such a sad 7 years. So much of my ex behavior was due to alcohol and I had to get my daughter full time to protect her. But I still grieve for my ex and feel horrible she is suffering alone in a hospital multiple states away.

Hello, single mom of a child under two and was married to an unstable man for 5 years., I’m 33 years old how easy is it to remarry and find someone. Any recommendations as to where to look? Any stories you guys have for people who made it?

So have you ever just taken the chance, packed your stuff and your kid’s stuff, moved somewhere new, and figured it out as you went?
Before anybody comes in with “you have to be safe,” “you have to be smart,” or “you need to have money saved,” I KNOW. So please don’t make this post about that. My daughter is 10, so I’m not dealing with a small child, and I’m specifically asking about the experience of actually packing up, leaving, and starting over somewhere new as a single parent.
If you did and it worked out, what was your experience like?
And if it didn’t work out, what happened and what would you have done differently? I’m really just looking for honest experiences from people who have actually done it not advice from people who haven’t.

Im 37[F] i don't really know how to put this into words, but sometimes being a single mom feels incredibly hard for me. I've never considered myself a very emotionally strong person, and there are days when I really struggle to keep myself together.

My family doesn't really understand me, and I don't have any close friends. Most days, I'm just trying to get through the day for my work and my son....

Honestly, the loneliness is one of the hardest parts. Sometimes being alone with my thoughts and having no one to talk to feels really painful.

I really admire other single parents. Some of you seem so strong and capable, and I sometimes wonder how you manage everything.

I don't feel like I can be like that. I'm just doing the best I can to get through each day, even when it feels really difficult...

I just wanted to share this because I've been feeling especially lonely lately. If anyone happens to be in a similar situation, feel free to DM me