- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- preschoolers today articles
- preschoolers today q&a
- children today articles
- children today q&a
- community & groups
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
From Our Sponsors
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Solo Summers
Challenges Facing the Single Parent
By Heather V. Long
Use your imagination and use the time to turn trash into treasure and create an afternoon of adventure. And for those parents whose busy schedules are so rigorous that time off can be limited to a weekend afternoon, don't overachieve.
"Your kids need the simple things," says Klungness. "If you are working a lot and your time has been stretched, your inclination will be to do something spectacular. What your kids probably need is downtime with you. You don't want to take the day to go four hours to a theme park – they would probably be much happier with dinosaur-shaped pancakes and something simple with lots of contact time, snuggle time, talking time, depending on the age of the child. Go for something where you have the maximum interaction time and avoid the stress and the rush."
Summertime is a time for making memories, whether it's sitting down to make a batch of cookies or just sitting and going through a pile of storybooks together. These are the things your kids will remember and this is what they want: time with you when you aren't frazzled and harried.
"For some reason, my happiest memories of my kids and I spending time together during the summer revolves around swimming, going to the beach and stuff like that," says Cryns.