Single Parents and Lone Parents

The government has been pretty forthright lately in its determination to get lone parents back to work as a way of reducing the unemployment figures. I think it is fantastic that lone parents get all the support that they can get to start working or go back to work at the time that is just right for them, isn't it? However, that is unlikely to be the case in reality.

There are so many things to consider in terms of getting lone parents to work, that i wonder if the government has fully thought through lone parents needs.

As a lone parent myself with two children, I know how challenging it can be to take on all the parenting responsibilities, or share some if you have a supportive ex-partner. Some lone parents may not have the support network to help with childcare outside of normal office hours or indeed during office hours; they may not be able to afford nursery fees; returning to work may undoubtedly bring about fears of having some of their benefits being taken off them and not being replaced by sufficient income from their new job, with no immediate way of filling that financial gap. In addition, there are those lone parents who may not have worked for a long period of time, which means that they may have lost a lot of confidence and the working world or business world may appear too overwhelming for them. They may need re-skilling in meaningful career paths and not just a piecemeal attempt to get them in the lowest possible level job at the lowest possible pay in the quickest possible time just as a quick fix or a 'tick box' mentality to prove that unemployment is on the decrease!

Other than very important practical things to consider in getting lone parents back to work, there are emotional and psychological challenges that need to be taken into consideration.

Who will deal with the emotional and psychological challenges that lone parents might be facing when returning to work or entering the workplace for the first time. There may be feelings of guilt, insecurity, fear, anxiety, low self esteem or a lone parent may be someone who is harming themselves on a regular basis. Additionally, what about the emotional and psychological baggage that people bring with them from childhood that are amplified in adulthood? Who will help some lone parents to get rid of some of these potentially detrimential baggage and Emotional Roadblocks(tm) that could be stopping them working in the first place or not being as an effective parent as they would like to be?

And what about possible parenting challenges with either young children or teenagers? If these challenges are not dealt with, they could also affect the lone parents and single parents ability to perform well in their job and potentially affect team morale.

Some people need more support than others to move on in their lives. Just looking at one aspect of a person's life, such as employment/unemployment is not the most useful way to help people move on in life.

With Inspirational Blessings
Jennifer McLeod
www.PositiveInspirationS.co.uk