As a single parent, I sometimes question if I am doing everything right.
I am sure dual parent families have the same doubts, but it feels more compounded when you are single.
I sometimes get caught up in the lows of parenthood, even though I know I have lots of amazing moments.
For example, my kiddo has the exact same bedtime routine at my house and her dad's house. However, at dad's house she goes right to sleep, but at my house she gets out of bed 3-4 times, stalls, stalls, stalls. Takes about an hour to actually go to sleep. There are some nights where I am near tears, swearing at the clock, and angry texting her dad. What am I doing wrong? How am I the weaker parent? I am not interested in being the superior parent, I am only interested in us being equal parents. But am I sending some odd signal that tells her she can take advantage of me? Can she smell my insecurities and use them against me?
I just want her to learn to go right to sleep.
We continue to work on it, with some progress. Luckily, I have a great parenting partner who helps reinforce our shared expectations. I understand that I am very lucky to have a good relationship with my co-parent, but when it is 10pm and my kid is still not asleep I start to question my ability.
This example is the only one I can even think of where I do question my parenting skills. I am confident that my daughter knows she is loved, that there are rules, she knows it is my job to teach her everything I can, and she knows she can ask anything. But now I need her to know bedtime is not the time to inquire.
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