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Supporting Single Parents: Easing Back-to-School Transitions · Start Your Comeback: Rebuilding after Divorce, Empty Nest, and Loss of Spouse

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Is there a major life transition benching you?
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: I know you may be asking what's next?
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: What's my purpose?
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: What if?
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Because I've asked those too.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Start your Comeback Podcast.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: I'm Toni Thrash, a certified life coach, and I want to share the tools and practical steps to help you create a winning game plan to move into your new adventure.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Hi, welcome back.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: You're listening to episode 42.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry to say, but for most of us here in Texas, school is a minute away from starting.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: I know that we're still in July, but this summer has flown by and school is upon us in less than a month 21 days for me exactly.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: I can't hardly believe it.
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: This summer in particular has been busier than anticipated and held more life transitions than I was actually wanting or thought would happen.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: I will be addressing these in an upcoming episode, so you don't want to miss this.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: I know how hard summer schedules can be for single parents.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: Not only have I witnessed it, but I've also experienced it.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: So as we enter the raging river known as August and the countdown for school begins, I thought it might be helpful to suggest some ideas to help support the single parents that we know.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: As a single parent, there are many things for you to consider, but one of the main ideas is making sure that you have a healthy mental outlook moving forward.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: You've been in a constant state of worry between your work schedule this summer and making sure your children are not left alone very often or for too long, and that they haven't immersed themselves in gaming or TV Plus.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: On top of that, because of your budget, you haven't been allowed to give your kids what you think they deserve.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: This causes an immense amount of pressure and guilt that you've put on yourself, and I'm here to tell you today it's time to let it go.
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: So, for those of you who want to support a single parent, how do you do that?
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: How do you offer encouragement to them as they ready themselves for the onslaught of school activities, homework, athletics and projects?
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: We can only help if we are aware of the needs of single parents, and most of them are too afraid to ask for help.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: So you have to take the initiative and just say, hey, how can I help?
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: And you may have to ask more than once.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: So here are a few ideas for us to help those single parents that we know.
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: Number one financial worries.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: Now, raising children is expensive, so you know this, we all know this.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: But single parents may need help to cover basic needs like extra food or clothing, housing.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: Help to cover basic needs like extra food or clothing, housing and transportation.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: Sometimes there's unexpected costs, like medical bills or car repairs, that can quickly deplete savings if there's a savings to even begin with.
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: This adds up, especially if child support is not reliable and or it's non-existent.
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: Maybe offer to help buy supplies, pay for an after-school camp or just offer to pick up their kids and help with homework until they get off work.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: Number two the mental anguish, the mental load.
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: Single parents feel overwhelmed by the responsibilities of parenting, household management and their job, all while trying to fulfill the roles of two parents.
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: Now there are two parents, but when you're just at home with your kids, you're doing the job of two parents.
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: This can lead to burnout and stress, which can negatively impact your ability to parent effectively.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: It's difficult to think of everything as a single parent effectively.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: It's difficult to think of everything as a single parent.
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: I just remember thinking.
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: I've developed ADD because I cannot remember or think of all of this.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: They are now doing the work alone and it can be too much some days.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: Maybe offer to have their house cleaned, help with laundry or cook some extra food and provide a meal or two a week, especially until the rhythm of the year kicks in.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: Number three single parents are not necessarily great with self-care.
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: They need help.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: Trust me, I know they need some time out of the house without their kids to relax and refresh.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: Now.
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: That can mean going to dinner, it can mean going, it can even mean going to the grocery store alone, because it helps you have the time to decompress and think about your day.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: You see, the support that we give to single parents is so crucial to help maintain their clear focus and a determination to stay healthy.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: Number four remember, as I stated in number one, school is expensive.
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: Having kids in school it's expensive.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: It causes great deals of stress and loads of tears.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: Great deals of stress and loads of tears.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: You might offer gift cards for supplies or for groceries, and let me just say a lifesaver is restaurant gift cards, because we know when school starts and practices begin, homework starts.
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: There are just some things that make life a little bit less stressful, and we know that our kids grow so fast, especially over the summer, and the need for new clothing is a never-ending ordeal.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: You can always help with this.
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: It's always appreciated.
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: Number five invite this single parent to a Bible study for encouragement.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: Bible study for encouragement, offer to share a babysitter or pay for one.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: This is one of the biggest things we can do to help the single parents in this life transition with their overall emotional and mental stability.
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: Trust me, any kind of help is appreciated.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: It will mean so much more than you know and quite possibly prepare the road for success, even for the children, because what they're witnessing are the actual hands of God working on their behalf.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: It builds their faith as much as it does their parents.
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: As I finish up today, I want to mention a couple of final things.
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: Number one you cannot out give God.
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: He will always honor your generosity.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: Single parents often will not ask for help because of underlying shame or guilt or even maybe some pride issues.
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: Do it anyway.
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: If you see the need, then fill it.
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: I promise your own kids will see your generosity and obedience to help those who need a little help once in a while.
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: It is not something you will regret.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: I appreciate you being here today.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: Join me next week as I continue this little, I guess mini-series, if you will.
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: Part two on how to support the children whose parents are divorced as they start back to school.
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: I'll see you next time, hey, thanks for listening.
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: I don't take it for granted that you're here.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: You didn't listen by mistake.
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: If you want to reach out, you can DM me on Instagram at Tony Thrash Until next week.
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: Remember, there's still time left on the clock.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: Let's get you off the bench to start your comeback.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: I want to give a special shout out to Country Club for the original music.
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: You can find them on Instagram at Country Club.