Single Parenting - Something to be Ashamed Of

I hope this post encourages single mothers and gets people talking openly about the struggles single mothers face in society. 

There is something about being a single parent that makes people perceive you as ugly, irresponsible and a failure, especially if you are a woman. You are considered to be an easy catch and will very often receive indecent offers from men who believe you will give it all up at the blink of an eye, and if a baby comes out of that rendezvous, you will care for that child, because you know, you are simply built for this single parenting life. Of course men do not necessarily face this type of stigma - a single father is very often a celebrated hero; a single mother on the other hand is easy prey for malicious tongue-lashing.

This explains why many women are afraid of leaving unhappy relationships and abusive marriages when children are involved. This explains why so many women feel threatened by the words "you will end up a single mother", much more than they are by the words "I will kill you if you keep annoying me." Many women would rather be pummeled to death than leave and be single parents because single parenting for the average woman is something to be ashamed of. It highlights the inability to keep a man happy; it indicates irresponsible behavior that led to an unwanted pregnancy that you were too ashamed to terminate. It has the makings of a woman who was loose and will remain so. So may malicious stereotypes held against single mothers make it difficult for many women to walk away from life-threatening relationships. 

Message For Single Mums

Disclaimer: This is not a post to encourage men who walf out on the women they impreganted or to give the notion that such women are overbearing. It is a post intended to help single mothers move on, let go and make something worthwhile of themselves, against all odds.

Being a single mother can be difficult; and really, I don't think any one willingly puts herself in such a situation. For many women, being a single mother is the result of tragic incidents that still haunt them till this very day, while others are unfortunate to be dumped by the men they believed would stand by them forever, leaving them to face the difficulties of childbearing and parenthood alone. These days, the trend of single parenthood is on the rise; there are more single mothers coming up everyday, feeling they can do it all by themselves. Somewhere along the line, every single mother will feel the need for a husband, a pillar of support for themselves and for their children and that is where the baby card starts to come into play.

It is disheartening that many young men these days have sex with women they have no intention of marrying, and it is even more disturbing that women agree to sexual relations with a man that has not made any commitment before God or her family. Why these things happen, I will never understand but it's a situation many people have to face everyday, so I figured it should be addressed. As a single mum, it must be difficult to watch the father of your child move on like he didn't leave a bun in your oven, to watch him move on, marry someone else and act like you never existed in his life. But should you play the baby card to make him notice you?