As the holiday season approaches (yes, it’s almost that time of year again) singles face a whole range of challenges. This is the time of year when society sends out all sorts of messages about how the “normal” way of being is to be happily involved with someone special, spending time with your loving family, and generally enjoying all of the benefits of being in a happy, loving, stable, meaningful relationship.

In other words, it’s a terribly difficult time for singles whose live don’t match up with this (impossible) ideal scenario. So what should you do about it? How can you avoid spending another holiday season feeling miserable or out of place? The key is to plan ahead.

1. Resolve right now not to buy in to the holiday hype about loving relationships, family, and the like. Whether you are in the early stages of dating someone or not dating anyone at all at the moment, make the choice to set aside the “Hallmark version” of the holidays and focus instead on approaching this time of year with the mental attitude that you’re just fine the way you are.

2. Think ahead about what you want to do on the actual holidays themselves. Do you want to spend time with extended family? Get together with friends? Get out of town and go on vacation? Focus on what you really want to do and then get started making plans to actually do it.

3. Stay flexible with your expectations. This is especially important if you’re dating someone but the relationship is not yet overly serious; don’t assume you’re going to spend the holidays together, but don’t assume you’re not going to spend them together, either. Try letting go of expectations for what “should” happen and just go with the flow of the relationship as it progresses naturally through the next couple of months.

The holidays can be difficult for singles to face, but if you plan ahead and keep a healthy mindset they can be fun and rewarding!

Family Family, Holidays

It’s never easy to be a single parent. Along with all of the difficult issues that come with parenting alone (or sharing responsibilities with an ex), add in the challenges of getting back into the dating scene and you start to get an idea of the uphill battle so many single parents face.

Online dating sites (especially those targeted squarely for single parents) have taken a lot of the stress and difficulty out of dating for this unique group of singles. Finding someone to go out with who understands what it’s like to deal with single parenthood every day can be a huge thing; it gives you common ground to talk about and a common set of responsibilities to keep in mind when planning your dating activities.

What’s more, when you choose an online dating site for single parents you’re going to connect with others who don’t mind the fact that you have children – something that you cannot say for sure with other more general dating sites! And because many single parents also face financial challenges, dating sites for single parents typically make it relatively easy and affordable to get back into dating without breaking the bank.

Some of the top rated dating sites for single parents include:

• SingleParentsMingle.com
• SingleParentMatch.com
• SingleParentMeet.com
• SingleParentLove.com

If you’d prefer to stick with a dating site that is broader (eHarmony.com, Match.com, etc.) be sure to choose one that offers you the option of noting that you’re a single parent and allows you to focus on other single parents as your potential matches. With a bit of research and effort, every single parent can find the right online dating site to meet their unique needs!

Family Exes, Kids, Parents

Let’s face it, finding someone special and dating when you’re a single parent is tough. There are so many things to consider, from your kids’ feelings to your own baggage and more, it might seem easier to just a) forget about dating and crawl back into your hole, or b) not say anything about having kids until you’re a little ways into a dating relationship. Neither of these is a good option, so what’s a single parent to do?

As hard as it may be, never lie, mislead, or conveniently forget to mention that you have a child/children. This approach never turns out well for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that you’re starting out a relationship with a lie. Not a good way to establish a successful relationship!

It’s far better to focus on looking for potential partners in ways and in places where a single parent with children does not stand out as unusual or undesirable. A good place to start is with one of the online dating sites that have services catering to single parents, such as:

www.match.com – Not strictly a single parent site, but with a strong sub-community of singles with children

www.singleparentmatch.com – Separate from match.com, but catering solely to helping single parents meet each other to form friendships and/or relationships

www.singleparentmingle.com – Another online dating service focused on single parents, this one has a number of extra features available like compatibility matching, chat rooms, forums, blogs, and more.

So if you’re a single parent, don’t be afraid to get out there and start meeting new people. There’s lots of ways to do it and online dating services to help you along!

Family Children, Divorce, Kids, Parents