As single parents, even the smoothest of days can feel like a tightrope of laundry, uniforms, and carpool etiquette. Of course, you love living this best life with your kids, but honestly, your timings are pretty tight and your downtime is limited. Hence why, if you throw an unexpected emergency in the mix, these carefully laid plans can quickly unravel.
This isn’t to say, of course, that as a single mom you can’t manage anything that life throws at you. Heck, isn’t that what you do all day long?
Still, coping with a curveball like a burst water pipe or broken heating when your hands are already full (probably of screaming children) would be difficult for even Super Mom! That’s why we’ve put together a simple survival guide for coping with any emergency or unexpected setback.
Survival tip 1 – Get the kids to help
Older kids, especially, can be a huge help in recovering from an emergency, either by researching plumbers before water levels rise dangerously high, or finding you the much-needed number of a 24 hour AC service while you get to work cold-proofing the house. Even younger kids can get plugged in with mopping up leaks or cleaning general fallouts and, of course, making sure that you keep a positive attitude and if possible, a smile on your face no matter how bad it gets.
Survival tip 2 – Have a backup plan
As a single parent, you need a childcare backup plan of some kind that gives you a little mental space — if and as soon as disaster hits. Whether your kids help you to contact childcare or not, having a mom support network or even a reliable daycare option that you know you can turn to at the last minute is fundamental for helping you to put all your energy into fixing the problem in question. As well as ensuring your sanity, this ability to focus solely on what’s happening means that you can solve issues faster, and get the family home up and running again so that your kids can return to the best possible environment for their needs.
Survival tip 3 – Have an entertainment go-to
As any mom (and especially any single mom) knows, entertainment in times of strife is the single biggest lifesaver. As such, keeping aside so-called ‘rainy day kits’ that include new coloring books, reading materials, and craft activities is also fundamental. Whether you dig these out while waiting for childcare pick-ups, or in place of immediate childcare relief, you can bet that the peace and space they buy you will make all the difference. At the very least, getting stuck in with a little coloring yourself while you wait for repair professionals can help to calm you down and keep your mind off what’s happening!
In an ideal world, we would never have to cope with emergencies that throw our delicate daily plans into disruption. But, this isn’t an ideal world, so make sure that you know how to manage the kids no matter what disaster you’re dealing with.