Every single working mother has at least two jobs. The first one is their day job that helps them with their finances, and the second is being a mother and taking care of the kids.
Sometimes, it can be tough to manage time for both. And being a divorced/single mother can also take its toll on mental health.
Single mothers need to constantly struggle between giving time to their job, and to their kids. If any one is compromised, it causes a heap of trouble. Either it hurts work performance, or the kids don't get enough time and attention.
To help you prepare and understand this difficult journey after divorce, this article will discuss in detail some of these major challenges a single mother can face while managing kids and jobs.
Challenges Single Mothers Face
In the US, the percentage of marriages that end in divorce is 44.6%. The number is huge because the total population of the US is roughly around 330 million.
If you are one of these people, then here are some of the challenges you and many other single mothers face on a day-to-day basis:
1. Sense of Guilt
This is one of the most fundamental problems single mothers face. We know it can be bothersome when you need to put the priority of your job ahead of your kids. You are a mother, and it is your responsibility to take good care of your kids.
But when you cannot do that, it causes stress in your mind, making you feel more guilty.
It will make the situation tougher when you soon realize that your kid is also getting detached from you because of your job. But you have to stay strong, especially on these days.
2. No Time for Yourself
As we have mentioned, you will constantly shift your spare time between your kids and your job.
Whenever you get some free time, you will either feel that you need to spend time with your kid or feel you can do some extra work for a possible promotion.
Constantly dividing time between these two will make you soon realize that you hardly have any spare time for yourself. You cannot do anything you please; you cannot go out to eat or go visit a place to relax your mind. However, physically and mentally draining yourself is the worst thing you can do at this stage.
No matter how hard it gets, try to find time for yourself and do the things you love.
3. Tight Finances
Although you may be able to do a job correctly, soon you will realize it is not enough. Since you are a single mother, you have many expenses for yourself and your kids. This will put a significant strain on your financial situation.
As the kid grows, they will soon go to school and then college. This means there will be more added cost. You will not have any money to spend behind yourself. You cannot buy that beautiful dress or that gorgeous piece of jewelry.
It’s essential to invest in personal financing. Try to track down all your expenses and find room for savings. Every cent counts, and financial habits like these can go a long way.
4. Health Insurance
You must put the health of yourself and your kids first. But it can be difficult to maintain proper health insurance after paying all the bills with your limited income.
This is why 1 out of 4 divorced women lose their health insurance contract because they are not financially fit to pay for the coverage. As a result, if their kid falls sick, which kids tend to fall quite often, it will result in very high expenses.
5. Unsolved Debts
While you were married, you and your husband may have some debts left unpaid. For example, you bought a car with a shared debt before your divorce, and it is still left unpaid.
Normally, a shared debt is to be paid equally whether you and your husband are still together. But if the husband does not want to pay or the matter is not settled by court, which happens pretty often, you will have an extra financial burden. This can demoralize you pretty fast.
6. Burnout and Exhaustion
This is a byproduct of not being able to spend time for yourself. The only things you will be doing are doing your 9-5 day job, and then when you return home, you take care of your kids.
You will already be exhausted from work and there will not be any scope for you to take rest when you return home.
This extreme workload will soon tire you out and make you feel exhausted. Your mood will deteriorate, and you will not be able to focus on your life goals. Most single working mothers claim that they are suffering from chronic depression because of their heavy workload.
7. Glass Ceiling
The glass ceiling is a concept where a person is shown that he/she can achieve great heights, but in reality, they are bound by chains of fake promises and impossible dreams. Single parents also face this glass ceiling, where they think they can reach great heights, but a glass cage traps them.
This is even more true in the corporate world. A corporate company will look for profit, and when they see that one of their employees is a single working mom, they will automatically assume that she cannot provide much profit for their company.
So the single parent is stuck working where she is despite giving her best effort.
Final Thoughts
Being a parent is not an easy job, and it becomes even more difficult when you are a single mother struggling to make ends meet. The constant fear of losing your job and losing your children’s affection will stress you out.
However, just as there are problems, there are solutions as well. Try looking for flexible jobs such as freelancing and developing skills. Jobs that allow you to work from home will also help solve your problems. So decide wisely where you want to work and how you want to work. Planning is essential.