Proud to be a double parent…

I am single. I am a parent. I have sole custody of my children. I am not a single-parent. I do the parenting work of two people, therefore I am a double parent.

As double parents, we are LITERALLY doing the parenting work of two people. We are 100% responsible for the sum total of our children’s parenting – a task that is normally shared (hopefully, equally) by two people. That’s quite the responsibility.

If we were two do twice the work asked of us by our boss, we would be applauded, promoted and given raises – or at least, we would deserve that treatment.As a double parent, I am proud to do double the work. It’s certainly harder to row the parent boat alone as opposed to a rowing in a pair. It actually seems like you are hopping while everyone else is running – the work is harder and the rests are fewer – but believe me, the rewards are great.

No matter how difficult your journey is I urge you to keep going.

Remember, no parent is perfect and everyone makes mistakes.

Don’t give up. You are enough, and you are good enough! Hold your  head up high and do not let anyone or any circumstance steal your joy. Do not let anyone tell you that your family is broken. You are not broken. 

I am proud to  be a double parent and it is my hope that you, too, will be proud of your double parenting.

Dear Huffpost, my family is not broken…

I’m reblogging this post because the #notbroken message is as important as ever. Just because a family has only one parent, or because there is no “male figurehead” does not mean our children are from broken families.

The Double Parent:

An open letter to Huffpost (and its writer /blogger, Elizabeth Denham) in response to this article.  Denham’s advice-giving post about co-parenting after divorce states “Give [your children] the freedom to be happy wherever they are. It is the greatest gift you can give to them after their family has broken.”

What???? It is 2013 and you are still describing families who have been through divorce or separation as BROKEN???? Are you kidding me?
I am single. I am a mother. I have sole custody of my children. I am not a single-parent. I do the parenting work of two people. I am a double parent, and my family is not broken.

I am outraged that you would describe any family situation as broken. Unless there has been outright abuse or something has happened to damage or sever the parent-child bond/relationship, no child is from a broken family.  Parents separate. They don’t…

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Please Vote for The Double Parent

The Double Parent blog is less than 6 months old, but it is already making its mark on the world.

Double Parent articles have been featured in Everyone Matters, Guerilla Feminism, Rabid Feminist, Everyday Feminism, Love All Blogs, Circle of Moms, and numerous other online publications.

The Double Parent has been shortlisted for two  Brilliance in Blogging Awards – in the Innovate and Video categories. Please click on the images to vote. The Double Parent is in categories 8 and 16 – you don’t need to vote for the other blogs or categories – just those two, and you only need to vote once. The 2013 BiB Awards precipitated a landslide of nominations, across 16 categories, with inspiring, innovative and exciting results and so The Double Parent is thrilled to be in the final 16 shortlist for TWO BiBS categories. Finalists will be announced on May 22, and winners announced on June 21, 2013

The Double Parent has also been nominated for two Canadian Weblog Awards – in the Family and Parenting and  Life categories. The Canadian Weblog Awards promote good weblogs of all genres from across Canada year round through regular interviews, articles, and the nomination, judging, and an award process that culminates with the announcement of the top three weblogs in each category on December 1st. The Canadian Weblog Awards are about quality not popularity, so there is no public vote. Each weblog is judge by a volunteer jury against a set of criteria.

 

The Double Parent is Scottish and Canadian (yay for Dual Citizenship!) and holds an MA from The University of Glasgow and a post-grad in Teaching English as a Second Language from Humber College, and is a self-confessed Diet Coke addict, self-therapist, grammar guru. You can also find The Double Parent on Facebook, Pinterest, Instacanvas, Twitter, and on Instagram.