'Offensive': Mum calls out those who 'pretend' to be single parents on social media
Parenting is hard work; there are the daily struggles that you have to contend with, fights and squabbles and financial burdens.
And while it is tough when you have someone to share the load with, imagine how it is for those who have to do it alone.
Single parents have to deal with it all. The school run, the discipline, the housework and make every decision in the best interests of their kids. It’s tough. Extremely tough.
And taking care of the kids on your own for a few weeks or even months while your other half works away, is not the same thing – something mum-of-three Nikki Pennington wants us all to know.
Taking to Facebook recently, Nikki admitted that she was shocked when she read a comment about being a single parent by someone who isn’t.
Finding the post offensive, the blogger decided to highlight exactly what being a single mum is, by sharing an insight into the sacrifices her own mother – a single mum – to ensure Nikki and her siblings had the best chance at life.
“I sat back and watched as she tirelessly worked two jobs to make ends meet,” she wrote.
“I watched as she used her free time to attend college classes to give us a better life, to give me an easier future.
“I listened as she would cry herself to sleep with no one else there to comfort her or say, ‘I’m here’.
“I saw the worry in her face as she would constantly carry the weight of motherhood on her shoulders and her shoulders alone."
Admitting that she would hear her mum whispering to friends about how hard life is, Nikki went on to say:
"I would listen as she would pour her heart and soul into that conversation about her worries of the world and how our bills would get paid.
"I watched as my single mom put on a brave face and got up over and over again every damn day and gave her best all on her own."
And while Nikki doesn’t go into much detail about the comment someone made about being a single parent, she does say that as a child of a single mum, she found it offensive.
"You don’t get to call yourself a single parent if you have someone there to help you carry the weight of parenting,” the blogger continued. “You don’t get to call yourself a single parent simply because your significant other works long hours or overnight.
"You don’t get to call yourself a single parent if you get the option to stay at home or even work part time.
"You don’t get to carry that title when you’ve never had to carry their burdens.
"To all the real single parents out there not the ones that pretend to be on social media because they are home alone for a few days, I see you and I applaud you for all that you do."
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