Felling like a failure as a single parent?

A man sitting alone on a bench along a concrete path in a serene outdoor setting.

… You are just doing it alone

It’s 8:43 p.m. You’ve finally gotten the kids to bed. The house is still a mess. You haven’t eaten a real meal. Your brain is fried, and your heart feels heavy. Sound familiar?

If you’ve ever found yourself feeling like a failure as a single parent, you’re not alone.

I used to think moments like that meant I was doing something wrong, that if I were more organized, stronger, smarter, I’d have it all under control.

But here’s what I know now: I wasn’t failing.
I was just doing it alone.

The Invisible Load

Single parenting isn’t just doing two people’s jobs, it’s carrying the mental, emotional, and financial weight of a family on your own. Every decision, every task, every worry… it’s all on you.

And yet, most of the time, the world expects you to just keep going like it’s normal.

I’ve stood in grocery stores calculating whether I could afford both the cereal and the toothpaste. I’ve walked into courtrooms without a lawyer. I’ve comforted my child through tears, only to go into the bathroom and cry quietly myself.

None of that makes me weak.
It makes me real.

No One Prepared Us For This

There are no orientation classes for being a single parent. No handbooks. No “you got this” hotline when the weight gets too heavy. A lot of us figure it out as we go through trial, error, and sheer will.

The truth is, most people don’t realize how many single parents are out here doing the impossible. According to the Census Bureau, over 11 million families in the U.S. are headed by a single parent. That’s a lot of people quietly surviving something hard.

What Helped Me

I started tracking small wins, moments when I felt proud, even if no one else noticed. Like paying off a bill. Getting dinner on the table. Or just getting through the day without yelling.

One of the small things that helped was writing things down. Appointments. Emotions. Expenses. I started using a simple planner to make sense of the chaos.
Nothing fancy… just something like this one I found on Amazon. It became a quiet space for my brain.

You’re Not Alone

Just because you’re feeling like a failure as a single parent doesn’t mean you are one. It means you’re carrying too much, with too little support.

If no one else has said this to you lately:
You are doing enough. You are enough.

It’s okay to cry in your car.
It’s okay to feel exhausted.
It’s okay to not have it all figured out.

You are not weak. You are not broken. You’re just doing the hardest job in the world — without backup. And you’re still standing.

You’re not failing, you’re carrying the weight of two people. That’s not weakness. That’s strength in motion.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, please don’t carry it alone forever. We’ve gathered mental health and emotional support resources for single parents, you can explore them here.

That’s not failure.
That’s resilience.

With compassion,
Eryndor
Founder, Single Parent Bible
admin@singleparentbible.com

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