Parenting is one of the hardest jobs in the world. From the moment the doctor puts that baby in your arms, you are responsible for his or her health, safety, security, and well-being… 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as long as you live! It’s enough to make anyone feel more than a little stressed.
For single parents, however, the job is even harder. Not only are they responsible for EVERYTHING (paying the bills, helping with homework, feeding the pets, kissing scraped knees), but they don’t always have a support system in case of emergencies. This reality leads many single parents to ask this one, scary question:
“What would happen to my kids if something happened to me?”
The Facts on Single-Parent Families
As marriage rates decline throughout the world, the number of single parents has steadily risen. Today in the United States, there are currently 13.6 single parents raising 21 million children. These people are hard-working, resilient, and loving caregivers – but they’re also often overworked and overstressed.
Single parents have to work full-time to provide for their families, while also offering their kids their full attention and emotional support during their time at home. The experience – like all parenting experiences – is equal parts exhausting and rewarding, but the lack of additional support can make single parents more anxious than their partnered peers.
A Single Parent’s Greatest Fear
We live in a world that’s full of the hustle and bustle – and that fast-paced lifestyle starts at a young age. Kids today are constantly being shuttled from school to sports to extra-curricular classes without much downtime in between.
And who is responsible for managing those schedules? That’s right: their parents.
Unfortunately, we also live in a world that’s full of danger. Car accidents alone account for over 6,000 visits to the emergency room each day! If you were injured, who would oversee picking your kids up from school and managing their schedules – not to mention caring for the household or paying the bills?
This uncertainty is a common concern for many single parents… but now, there’s a solution.
How To Ensure Your Child is Protected
When it comes to taking care of children, everyone needs a strong support system and an emergency plan. Of course, that goes double for single parents, who don’t always have the built-in support from their former partner. To make sure that your little ones are cared for if you’re ever sick, injured, or worse, it’s important to follow these simple steps:
Step1: Create a Team
First things first: you need a support system. Gather a team of people you trust and care about – your parents, cousins, friends, co-workers, whoever – and talk to them about the assistance you need. Most people are happy to help you as best they can (after all, who doesn’t want to help kids?), and their assistance can be invaluable during a crisis.
However, it is important to remember that some people may not be able to support you as much as you’d like. For this reason, it’s wise to have a large support network of friends, relatives, and loved ones you can rely on. The more people on your team, the more likely your children will be protected – and that is the most important thing.
Step 2: Document Key Info
Too often, single parents feel like the world is on their shoulders. There’s so much to think about and so much to keep track of all on their own! However, if you don’t share important information about your children with others, they won’t be able to assist you in your time of need. This is why it’s important to write down your family’s important information.
Your children’s schedules, necessary medication or allergies, and even chore lists or pet care instructions should be written somewhere in your house. This will enable your friends and family to keep your household running smoothly in the event of an accident or illness, giving you peace of mind and giving your children a little more emotional stability.
Step 3: Communicate
So, you’ve put together a childcare support team, and you’ve made a list of everything they need to know to care for your kids. What now? Simple – YOU HAVE TO COMMUNICATE! Family members and friends can only assist you if they know what to do (or where to find the list).
Make sure your support team knows where they can find your children’s important information, your financial records, and any other information they might need to assist you. This will make their job much easier and ensure that your instructions are followed right away.
Try LifeExec
We work single parents (we are single parents) and we are the best in world at preparing families for whatever life throws at you. As one of the most trusted life management apps in the country, we are proud to provide families with a little extra peace of mind.
With our accident planning options, single parents can ensure that their children and household are properly cared for no matter what happens. Thanks to our easy-to-follow tutorials, document checklists, and helpful advice from our expert staff, LifeExec makes it easy to set up an emergency plan that will protect your family.
Our software allows parents to upload a variety of forms, from dependent care and pet care instructions to bill pay information and everything in between. You can use these forms to create emergency plans in the event of an accident, injury, or illness. Best of all, LifeExec can deliver these documents to your support team, your co-workers, or your child’s school if you’re ever in an accident.
Free Gift for You
LifeExec is a community of people helping people. We work with amazing estate planners, wealth managers, insurance agents, medical professionals, first responders, and real life people that have lived through difficult real life situations. We use this collective wisdom and produce useful tools and resources for you to use while building your life plans.
Download our LifeExec Medical History and LifeExec Children Dependents forms and use them to document important information on you and your children and follow the steps above.
Please feel free to share them with anyone in your life they may help.
Sign Up Today for Free
LifeExec can’t always take away the stress of parenting – but with our help, your job can be just a little easier. Sign up for a 30-day trial (no credit required) and see how LifeExec can benefit your family.
