Solo Parent Society

Have you heard of attachment theory? It's been a hot topic lately, but surprisingly, not everyone knows all the details. That's why we've invited licensed counselor James Horne to join us, to dive into what attachment theory is all about and how it affects the way we give and receive love. We'll explore different attachment styles and how they show up in our relationships with others, including our kids. And of course, we won't leave out the topic of healing. For all the detailed show notes, tips and links visit soloparent.org —> ASK US ANYTHING! We want to answer any Solo Parent questions you may have. Go to SoloParent.org/TalkToUs and ask us anything…it can be related to a topic we cover on the podcast, something you are facing or just something you are curious about. We want you to be part of our podcast! Receive a free SPS Welcome Toolkit with links to groups, info and a free book. Join our FREE daily meditational devotional Download our free app - APPLE | ANDROID "When I Talk to God, I Talk About You

You may be familiar with the book "The Five Love Languages," which states that each person has a primary love language. This means the way they receive love is unique, including our kids. As single parents, it's easy to miss our kids' love language while trying to keep everything together. To effectively show our love, it's important to tune into their love language and understand the best way to communicate it to them. For all the detailed show notes, tips and links visit soloparent.org —> ASK US ANYTHING! We want to answer any Solo Parent questions you may have. Go to SoloParent.org/TalkToUs and ask us anything…it can be related to a topic we cover on the podcast, something you are facing or just something you are curious about. We want you to be part of our podcast! Receive a free SPS Welcome Toolkit with links to groups, info and a free book. Join our FREE daily meditational devotional Download our free app - APPLE | ANDROID

For single parents, the word love or the concept of love can bring conflicting beliefs. We have all felt love…a kind of love that we were so sure of that we committed our lives to another person we loved completely. When those hopes get dashed, it can leave us with a misinformed sense or even a fear of love. As we look back on our lives, we have seen our share of poor examples of what love is. Love within normal human limits can look more like codependency, people-pleasing, self-serving, and sometimes even untrue. God puts a serious premium on love being above all else on earth, so what does real love look like, and how can we be better at it? For all the detailed show notes, tips and links visit soloparent.org —> ASK US ANYTHING! We want to answer any Solo Parent questions you may have. Go to SoloParent.org/TalkToUs and ask us anything…it can be related to a topic we cover on the podcast, something you are facing or just something you are curious about. We want you to be part of our podcast! Receive a fr

Dating is a sticky subject for solo parents—not only has the dating world changed since we became single parents, but we have changed. We have a lot more to consider in dating relationships. What got us here isn’t going to get us where we want to be. We are all in varying stages of solo parenting, so our approaches to dating may be different. However, there are some ways we can all be wiser when we decide to bring dating into our lives. Today, 2 single dads and 2 single moms discuss Dating Differently. For all the detailed show notes, tips and links visit soloparent.org —> ASK US ANYTHING! We want to answer any Solo Parent questions you may have. Go to SoloParent.org/TalkToUs and ask us anything…it can be related to a topic we cover on the podcast, something you are facing or just something you are curious about. We want you to be part of our podcast! Receive a free SPS Welcome Toolkit with links to groups, info and a free book. Join our FREE daily meditational devotional Download our free app - APPLE |

As single parents, one thing we all have in common is that we’re juggling so many balls in the air...all of the time. Paying bills, keeping a job, cooking, cleaning, being a taxi driver, and being a good parent can keep our minds spinning, trying to forecast the next step, the next responsibility, or the next shoe to drop.  So often on this podcast, we talk about one of the greatest things we can give our kids is our presence, so as we move into this new year and look at our parenting, how can we move towards being more fully present with our kids? What are some practical things we can do, and are there simple approaches we can take to be more engaged with our kids... beyond just the tactical, keeping them healthy, fed, and clothed. This week we have a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and the founder of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA, Dr. Dan Siegel with us to talk about All Things New: Parenting with Presence. For all the detailed show notes, tips and links

One of the more challenging parts of being a single parent, is trying to figure out how to make things work financially. When we are primarily responsible for the welfare and health of our kids, the financial burden can feel overwhelming. So as we start this new year and talk about approaching a few foundational parts of our life differently. Finances must be one of the issues close to, if not the top of the list. This week we have a #1 New York Times bestselling author and financial expert, Rachel Cruze, to talk about All Things New: Finding financial peace. For all the detailed show notes, tips and links visit soloparent.org —> ASK US ANYTHING! Leave your question by either pushing the 'talk to us' button on accessmore.com or call 888-881-SOLO (7656). Or email your question to info@SoloParent.org Receive a free SPS Welcome Toolkit with links to groups, info and a free book. Join our daily meditational devotional Download our free app - APPLE | ANDROID

Let’s face it, every one of us… And we mean every. single. one. of us struggles with overreacting. Not everybody sees it and often our kids get the short end of the stick with our overreaction. We can fly off the handle with family members, driving, work, this list is extensive. So many of us walk around with our fingers on the trigger of overreaction, and the smallest things cause us to react contrary to what we know is right… or even what we have planned. And frankly, with so much of the burden on us… raising our kids, and keeping our family safe and marginally happy, it’s no wonder that our emotions are close to the surface. The double whammy of this is it once we do overreact, we feel awful and guilty, and that turns into shame and can create its own spiral, which prompts even more overreaction from time to time.  So as we start this new year and we look for things that we can do differently. How do we address our overreactions and move into a more balanced and stable response to the things happening

It’s so true that after becoming a Solo Parent, the dynamics of our friendships and relationships, as well as any romantic connection, can seem to evaporate. In this new year, as we take inventory of the things in our past and we look toward the future, we know how important relationships are, especially in a season that can be so lonely. But where do we meet people? Where do we start? For some of us, we have felt relational rejection, and our trust has been betrayed or, at the very least, damaged. Relationships can feel so awkward, and frankly, it’s hard to think of having the energy or the courage to put ourselves out there again. Yet, we all know that we need relationships more than ever, so as we look at this new year and the idea of all things new, how do we sort through relationships both old and new… both friendships and maybe even romantic… realizing we are in different place than we use to be.  For all the detailed show notes, tips and links visit soloparent.org —> ASK US ANYTHING! Leave you

As single parents, we can feel stuck in the past hurt we have encountered. Many of us feel stuck replaying the mistakes we’ve made, and some don’t like thinking about our past because it can be too painful or shame us. We know that to move forward we need to deal with some of the things that have happened to us... or maybe even the challenges created by us, in our past... but how exactly do we do that? Are there practical steps we can take to avoid repeating some of the same patterns?  This week we have a special guest with us today, Emotional and Spiritual wellness coach Jeromy Deibler to talk about All Things New: The Way Forward. For all the detailed show notes, tips and links visit soloparent.org To be notified when our ‘The way forward’ course is being offered with Jeromy Deibler, email info@SoloParent.org and give us your name and put ‘INTERESTED IN THE WAY FORWARD COURSE’ in the subject line. To get more information on Jeromy and his work visit www.returnandrest.org ASK US ANYTHING! Leave your qu

The magic of Christmas is gone. The decorations have to be pulled down and we’ve got bills to pay to cover another Christmas season. We are on the brink of a brand new year, which can feel daunting for some of us. For many of us, our situation hasn’t changed, and although New Year’s day symbolizes a new beginning, a new year… So many things feel the same. The reality of our situation can make looking at a new year almost an exhausting and depressing event. But, like we say every week on this podcast, we always want to end in a place of hope. So for those of us not walking into a new year naturally feeling a sense of hope, what can we do to ground ourselves with a foundation of hope walking into the new year?  For all the detailed show notes, tips and links visit soloparent.org Get your FREE - ZAKAR jar label Ask us any question and hear yourself on a future podcast. Leave your question by either pushing the 'talk to us' button on accessmore.com or call 888-881-SOLO (7656). Or email your question to info@

As we’ve been talking about this month, the holiday season can heighten all single parents' lonely and painful feelings. The magic that we used to experience, especially when our kids were young and we had an intact family, is now a thing of the past… and because of some of the pain, we can become cynical and feel like we’re stuck in the pain. Some of us can even slip into a sense of bitterness, comparing our lives to others and even the way we used to be. We do our best to try to put on a happy face going into the holidays for the sake of our kids, which often is in stark contrast to what we are feeling inside. So how do we regain a sense of magic and wonder when so much of what we identify about the holidays, reminds us of the pain and dashed hopes we have experienced. For all the detailed show notes, tips and links visit soloparent.org Ask us any question and hear yourself on a future podcast. Leave your question by either pushing the 'talk to us' button on accessmore.com or call 888-881-SOLO (7656). Or em

The holidays can be one of solo parents' loneliest times of the year. Some of us miss being with our kids because they’re with the other parent for part of the holidays. Deciding what to get the kids, planning, and shopping on our own can cause a heightened sense of loneliness. Sometimes it feels like the whole world is going on in this magical place and we’re left on the sidelines just looking in at what we used to have. Home alone is a very accurate description of what many of us feel, alone in an empty house that used to be filled with Christmas magic. Today we have some key points that can really help. For all the detailed show notes, tips and links visit soloparent.org Ask us any question and hear yourself on a future podcast. Leave your question by either pushing the 'talk to us' button on accessmore.com or call 888-881-SOLO (7656). Or email your question to info@SoloParent.org Receive a free SPS Welcome Toolkit with links to groups, info and a free book. Join our daily meditational devotional Download

Is Christmas the most wonderful time of the year? Really? For many of us solos, it is often one of the most challenging times of the year, if we’re honest. When we first got married, we imagined a beautiful life, an ideal marriage, and perfect holidays. Especially after our kids were born, Christmas took on a new magical meaning. But now all of that is behind us, and our life looks very different. When we get into the holidays, we can be consumed with questions of what if… What if I could’ve kept the marriage together? What if I had a partner now? Sometimes we can even romanticize the memories of what we used to have. The Christmas season brings the hopes and dreams we used to have, back to the surface. When we see all the Christmas ads, and hear the Christmas music, undoubtedly, from time to time, some of those memories pop up, bringing with it a certain ache inside. We do our best to create the magic of Christmas for our kids but for many of us, if we are honest, we are faking it. So it begs the question, w

When the foundation we built for our home and family gets destroyed, whether through a divorce, the death of a spouse, or even the unexpected, life-altering news that you are going to parent alone, it can lead to a real sense of despair. Feelings of failure and unworthiness can permeate our minds. For many of us, it’s a natural stretch to have a sense of worth in brokenness when it feels like all we have are the scraps or pieces of what ‘used to be’… and the exhaustion of trying to keep those pieces together. As we talk about often, it is in these moments that we are closer - or maybe it is better said - God is closer to our brokenheartedness. But how do we actualize a sense of empowerment when we are struggling to just get by? Our guest today is Toni Collier the founder of an international women’s ministry called Broken Crayons Still Color, which helps women process through brokenness and get to hope. She is a Speaker, Host, and Author of Brave Enough to be Broken. For all the detailed show notes, tips and l

Holidays bring out unique and challenging situations for Solo parents. Having to interact with old relationships from our past, whether interacting with your ex, ex-in-laws, or stepping into our own family, can sometimes heighten our sense of failure and inadequacy. Or maybe it’s being around healthy relationships that remind us, in this vulnerable season, of what we don’t have. Being home for the holidays can impact our self-worth. So as we go into the holiday season, we might ask if it is even worth spending time with family when it just heightens my anxiety and negative feelings. So how do we cope with those family dynamics, or those dynamics with people from our past, and try to maintain a positive outlook not only for our kids, but also for our well-being? Today we will discuss this and identify five tips to approach this holiday season with strength. For all the detailed show notes, tips and links visit soloparent.org Ask us any question and hear yourself on a future podcast. Leave your question by eith

Mental health has become so much a part of our culture’s narrative these days. As single parents, we certainly are acquainted with feeling traumatized, scattered, and overwhelmed. When we think about our mental health, we are often in a hurry to try to fix a condition, but the core issue is often deeper. We have spent most of our lives abandoning ourselves to keep connected. We were meeting others' expectations and not speaking up for our own wants and needs. If we’re honest with ourselves as we look back, we notice that we have spent most of our lives performing and playing roles and have become out of touch with our own true selves. When we don’t have a good relationship with ourselves and our worth, it can lead to depression, co-dependency, and anxiety because we have lost the true understanding of who we are. So today, we are going to explore what it would look like not to run to change or fix mental health symptoms but instead get to one of the core issues of mental health, and that is our sense of worth

As we say goodbye to our co-host Kimberley Mitchell, worth is a very appropriate topic. Where we find our worth is a search we’ve been on since we were little children. The older we get, the more layers we seem to pile on the core of who we are. Those layers might look like achievements, or they might look like failures, a job that we’re doing, what we’re known for… All of those things contribute to who we are, but it’s easy to allow those things to create our sense of worth and identity. For those of us who have been around the church for so long, much of what we have learned is about performing. When part of who you are is being known for being a co-host on a podcast, stepping away can affect a sense of worth. So today, Kim speaks candidly about how stepping away from a sense of contributing or playing a public role can play into our sense of worth. And she reflects on the early days of being a solo mom, and we explore the quest we have been on since childhood, where we find our worth. For all the detailed

The heart-wrenching whirlwind of divorce or the trauma of losing a spouse to death can leave us completely depleted of our identity. Trying to navigate the chaotic and exhausting world of juggling all the demands of raising our kids on our own can leave us at a loss of who we are. Not recognizing who we were, who we are now, and who we are supposed to become can seem elusive while we’re just struggling to get by. So as a part of self-care, how can we begin to reclaim our identity, to discover confidence in who we are and how we fit in this new reality? In this episode, we are going to explore this. ? Our guest this week is Dr. Dan Allender. For over 30 years, the Allender Theory has brought healing and transformation to hundreds of thousands of lives by bridging the story of the gospel and the stories of trauma and abuse that mark so many. He founded The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology, and The Allender Center and is a best selling author of 9 books. He has counseled and led millions of people tow

Raising our kids on our own is so difficult. With limited resources and time, we can go crazy trying to meet all their needs and keep our kids happy and healthy. So often, we can fall into the trap of overcompensating; because our kids have been through difficult things, we try to make their happiness our top priority. Unfortunately, doing this creates a bottomless well that we can never fill up, leaving us depleted… and not healthy for our kids. So how do we draw appropriate boundaries with our kids that are not only a form of caring for ourselves but also serve their development? Our guest today is an Instagram sensation with over 780,000 followers, Dr. Siggie. She is a counselor who has been working with families for 30 years. For all the detailed show notes, tips and links visit soloparent.org Receive a free SPS Welcome Toolkit with links to groups, info and a free book. Join our daily meditational devotional Download our free app - APPLE | ANDROID Solo Parent Society is brought to you in part by Talk Abo

Many of us can feel guilty because we're not sticking to a Bible reading or prayer time in the morning like we used to. When we think about spiritual discipline in our lives, we often go to shame, like we are not a good Christian because we had difficulty having quiet time every morning. Well, this episode isn’t about shame; in fact, today, we’re not going to talk about comparing our quiet time as a measure of what a good Christian we are or if God is happy with the time we are putting in. We are going to explore perhaps a new way of approaching spiritual discipline. What if spiritual discipline goes beyond the intellectual exercise of reading and praying, as many of us have been taught? What if our spiritual discipline wasn’t about fulfilling what God or the Church’s expectation of us are, but was actually a deep soul self-care? Our guest is Anthony Skinner, a Spiritual Director, Prayer, Meditation, Enneagram practitioner, Music and Podcast Producer, award-winning Songwriter, Recording Artist, and Worship Le