I received a comment on this blog (I don’t post them) regarding the “challenges” of single parenting. My qualifications for responding to that query are arguably out of date, as my boys are both around 40 now. That noted, the following:
My custody of them began when they were six and three. I was a single parent and sole custodian. It’s often been posed to me, “What a difficult job that must have been for a guy.” My response has always been, “No more so than for a woman.” My kids, literally, never got into trouble, at least not with the police or authorities of that sort. However, they weren’t angels.
I cannot recall doing anything extraordinary to raise them properly. If they stepped out of line, they were punished appropriately and, with all modesty, quite creatively. A few times I just sent one or the other to the bathroom for an hour. Sending them to their room seemed foolish as all their “stuff” was there.
If I did anything I think was specifically strong or correct, it was teaching them to say “please” and “thank you.” I also insisted that they read, however, they could watch as much television as they wanted, assuming all else was out of the way.
To those parents who worry about violence in the movies or on television: Please, it’s the way you raise them, not what they see.
