Solo Parent

This week we are talking with Justin and Trisha Davis about 'One Choice Away From Change.'   Sometimes, we are so stuck in unhealthy relationship patterns with others or ourselves, that we don't even realize it. Or, we just don't know how to break that cycle and build lasting change, so we're left with hurt, disappointment, discouragement, and exhaustion. With so many responsibilities and pressure...

This week we are discussing the One Thing That's Standing in the Way of the Future You Want.   Sometimes, pain numbs us to the point that we can't see a future we're motivated to move toward. We feel stuck, directionless, and not excited about what lies ahead. How do we move forward in positive expectation?   Today, we cover three main points:  How to define horizonlessness Normalizing horizonless...

This week we are discussing 'What If I Need to Rock the Boat?'   We all know what instability feels like, and many of us don't want to rock the boat even more if we don't have to. But, sometimes we get stuck in what feels comfortable and we recognize things aren't as they should be; they're not healthy and not moving us forward. How do we lean into rocking the boat in a sustainable, positive, and...

This week we are discussing 'How Long, Oh  Lord?' with Marty Solomon.   The pain, chaos, and instability that leads to single parenting is so intense we want it to end as soon as possible—but it doesn't, and we don't know when it will. We feel like we're wandering in the desert with no relief in sight. Is it possible to find hope and not live in fear of the rug being pulled out when things are sta...

This week we are discussing 'How Much Change Can My Kids Take?' with Kyle Cruze.   Our kids have experienced so much change already, and we know stability is important. How much change can they endure before there are lasting consequences?    Kyle is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Tennessee. Since graduate school, Kyle has dedicated almost all his professional time to wor...

This week we are discussing 'What is Stability?' as a single parent.   If you define the life of a single parent, you might say that instability is the word. The challenges and chaos of work-life balance, finances, emotional stress, and more are simply a given when you're a solo parent, and because of that, we may often feel like our situation is not stable. But what does stability actually mean?...

This week we are discussing "When Your Child Triggers You"   Everyone who has been through trauma has triggers. Our children can often push those buttons and trigger a strong response from us—and single parents don't have a backup person to help out when this happens. If we're overwhelmed, we react to triggers instead of responding—and it doesn't go well. What do we do when our child triggers us,...

This week we are discussing "Parenting a Child Who's Mad at You"    It's inevitable that our kids will be mad at us, whether they're five years old or twenty-five. Their anger can feel like a heavy weight loaded onto our already-exhausting life! How do we effectively and lovingly parent a child who's mad at us?   3 MAIN POINTS Today, we cover three main points:  Reasons Our Kids Get Angry Our Resp...

In this week's episode - "The Three Phases of Solo Parenting" - we are honoring single parents as we lead up to National Single Parent Day.   In 1984, President Ronald Reagan signed Proclamation 516, designating March 21st as National Single Parent Day. The proclamation recognized the courage and dedication of single parents. Only those who have been on this often-lonely and overwhelming path know...

This week we are discussing "Getting Out From Under the Single Parent Guilt"   As a single parent, we are second-guessing and undermining ourselves. We want what's best for our kids but don't feel like we're able to deliver it, so we overcompensate or feel like giving up. How can we parent from a place of balance rather than swinging from a pendulum of too hands-off or too involved?   Today, we co...

This week we are discussing "Helping Our Kids Grieve Loss" with Annie F. Downs and Tatum Green - authors of Where Did TJ Go?   None of us are exempt from loss. We have all lost someone we love in some way or another. This is a painful subject that we often don't know how to talk to our kids about—but it's also incredibly crucial that we do. How do we talk to our kids about grief and loss in a heal...

This week we are discussing Teaching Our Kids Healthy Love   We want to teach our kids what healthy love or a healthy marriage looks like, but without two parents in the household, often what they've seen is broken or simply non-existent. How do we teach our kids about building healthy relationships when we aren't able to model it for them?    Today, we cover three main points:  Relationships are...

This week we are discussing Navigating Single Parent Dating: FAQs    Dating is hard, period. There's no manual, no "right way" of doing things. But when you're a single parent, it gets even trickier; you have kids now and dating has changed significantly in this digital age. How can single parents navigate dating and all its complexities?    LINK TO SHOWNOTES For all the detailed show notes, tips...

  This week we are discussing Is it Love or Loneliness?   Sometimes loneliness cuts so deep that we'll accept less than what we want or deserve; we're willing to take love from anyone we can get—both in romantic and non-romantic relationships. Sometimes it's really love, but other times it's simply a solution for our loneliness. How can we tell the difference in our relationships?    Today, we cov...

This week we are discussing Healthy vs Unhealthy Love with Laurie Lokey. As solo parents, we may not have experienced healthy relationships in our past, resulting in a distorted view of what relationships should actually look like. How can we define healthy relationships and what are some guidelines so that we're able to identify toxic or unsafe connections in our lives?  LAURIE LOKEY M.A.LPC-MHSP...

  This week we are discussing Unnecessary Things: Wasteful Spending   As single parents, we often need to be thoughtful about how we spend our money because our resources tend to be very slim; there's always an opportunity cost involved. And when everything is stretched so thin, it's hard to know what is wasteful spending vs. wise spending—there's a huge learning curve on top of everything else we...

This week we are discussing Unnecessary Things: No Regrets   Regret as a single parent runs deep. It can be in the day to day interactions with our kids, the thing we didn't say to our former spouse and wish we had, the choices we've made with our lives that got us where we are. But can all of these regrets actually serve us moving forward? How can we use regret to our advantage and actually have...

This week we are discussing Unnecessary Things: Worry There is such a gap between where you are and where you think you are supposed to be. And, as a single parent, it seems like there is so much to be worried about. You're in it alone; there is no sounding board and no one to help when you're spinning out and getting worked up. How can single parents use worry to our benefit? Today we're going to...

This week we are discussing Unnecessary Things: Goals Goal setting as a single parent can feel overwhelming, shame filled, and down right unnecessary. We already have so many pressures in life, why add more at the beginning of the year? Shouldn't we start off the year filled with hope and joy about what's to come? So how can we reframe goal setting to fit more of the single parent lifestyle and fe...

TOPIC This week we are discussing our REWIND episode " Is It Love or Codependency? PAIN POINT If we're honest, we need to admit we often don't know what healthy love looks like. Codependency can often feel like love. So, how can we tell the difference between love and codependency? We are looking forward to visiting this episode with you. 3 MAIN POINTS Today, we discuss why Elizabeth chose this ep...

When we talk about growing in grace, Kathie Lee Gifford is a shining example. She is an American icon, a talented actress, musical artist, and television personality. And she's been through so many things. Yet, she continues to live a life epitomized by grace and love. When asked where her tenacity and drive come from, Kathie says she is a lifetime student of God's word and reads it every day. And...

A COVID-19 CRISIS EPISODE

Single parents often face financial insecurity. Finding a place of stability takes time, especially after divorce or other unforeseen circumstances. In today's podcast, Robert Beeson and Kimberley Mitchell talk about ways solo parents can find financial stability. For solo parents around the country, finances are a huge stressor. Paying the rent and bills is a struggle complicated by child support...

In today's podcast, we deal with the topic of wholeness as part of our stability as single parents. Wholeness is defined as the state of being unbroken or undamaged but being a single parent can leave us feeling devastated and less than whole. It's especially challenging after some of our experiences and while feeling added pressure to have it all together for our kids. On today's podcast, Solo Pa...

Co-parenting can be so challenging - especially when the values and boundaries are not shared between the parents. Unfortunately, it is our kids that get the short end of the stick when our parenting dynamics are unhealthy. We discussed this with Tammy Daughtry, a marriage and family therapist, author, and founder of Co-parenting international. Tammy's basic co-parenting principles involve paying...