Parenting Tips for Single Parents
Being a single parent comes with its unique challenges. And the parenting tips for single parents I picked up along the way, really helped me learn and grow in my role as a mother. My son Jaylan spent a lot of time with me at work. He had been measured to be the mini-mascot for the team. He was excited about the idea as he had been told for a long time he could do it. Imagine our devastation when it didn’t happen. It became a lesson for both of us
- Sometimes when opportunities are taken away it is because God has something better for us.
Jaylan didn’t become the mini-mascot. Instead he became the ball boy. Something he enjoyed even more because he was a basketball player.
Are you feeling hurt, disappointed or let down because of a missed opportunity?
Look back and you will start to see some benefits. By looking back at my career, I saw every disappointment as a sign that something better and greater was coming. It was also an opportunity to teach my son how to handle disappointment.
- Find the positive in the negative.
While working for the NBA and arena, my son got access to many benefits that I wouldn’t have been able to provide my son with because I wasn’t wealthy or connected. Yet he got to be the ball boy and in commercials. Outside of work, I looked for positives even in less-than-ideal situations. The parenting tip for single parents there is to stay positive.
What are some situations you need to work harder to find the positives?
- Move, travel, and see the world.
I moved to Memphis for college and got to leave the country for the first time after I started working. Traveling allowed me to experience different cultures and made me well-rounded. I not only saw more possibilities, but also became more empathetic and appreciative of differences between people.
Even if you don’t move to another State or country, be intentional about visiting other people and getting to know different people. I can attest to how traveling and seeing the world has made me a better person. I am more inspired and my mind is open to numerous possibilities.
- Expose children to new experiences
The fourth of my parenting tips for single parents builds on the third tip – let your children experience more than your neighborhood. Let them see all the country and world have to offer. After my son Jaylan got to experience his first flight to Washington DC, he wanted to go everywhere. I still remembered my first trip to DC as a 17-year old. So, I enjoyed teaching him to navigate the airport so he could do it on his own later. As a parent, expose your children to new places, broaden their mind so they can be open to people, places and opportunities.
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I’m Summer Owens, and my passion is helping youth and young adults realize success no matter what obstacles they face. As an international resilience and leadership keynote speaker, author, S.O. What! Success Coach, and creator of the S.O. What! Literacy, Life Skills, and Character Education curriculum, I empower people to say, “So what!” to even their greatest challenges. provide a framework to help people see past their challenges and focus on solutions using the S.O. What! Success System (Overcome Obstacles + Eliminate Excuses + Calculate Choices = S.O. What! Success). Through keynotes, workshops, books, online courses, and workbooks, I use life’s challenges and my own story of resilience as a rape survivor and teen mom success story to help others confidently pursue their dreams.
Looking for an inspiring college motivational speaker? A high school literacy curriculum? A middle school life skills workbook? A great example for teen mothers? A women’s empowerment or single mother’s conference speaker? I’m your girl and will help any audience say, “S.O. What!”.
