If You're On Your Own, Reach Out

The possible pitfalls of co-parenting are one thing, but doing it all on your own is another. And even when you're co-parenting, you still may

If You're On Your Own, Reach Out

The possible pitfalls of co-parenting are one thing, but doing it all on your own is another. And even when you're co-parenting, you still may be physically taking care of the kids by yourself. To all the single parents, "I would say hang in there," Wasser says. "I would say, join Zoom chat groups. One of the biggest problems, generally speaking, during this quarantine, but certainly being a single parent, is the feelings of isolation, the feeling of people being alone. We've seen a huge uptick in people drinking."

"There are a lot of organized places you can go so you don't feel so isolated—and when I say go, I mean online, so that you can feel like you're part of a community, so that you can share stories and commiserate with other people. It's got to be really, really scary and depressing and anxiety-producing to be in this situation all on your own if you've got kids and you're trying to do the schooling, or they're so young that you're trying to keep them occupied.

"There are plenty of online offers for classes, webinars, getting information, hooking up with people, and I think that has been really helpful...We have at It's Over Easy a Zoom group of people who get together, which is mostly single parents it seems like, just figuring out how to work our way through it and how to do it. I would also say, as a single parent, establishing a schedule, sticking to it, if you can even get some physical exercise, that's great."