Single parents who are good at being 'out there' with your kids, and entertain socially (pre - covid)

[OhioOhioOhio]

How do you do it? I feel on the outside of everything. I feel like I'm letting my kids down because I don't offer the catch ups and family time I expected. How do I fix this?

What is stopping you OP being "out there"?

How old are your kids? Are they old enough to choose which friends to invite to meet up with or do you need to do it on their behalf? Be proactive. Ask other mums for their number, suggest playdates, join Facebook groups for local mums and go to local events. "Family time" isn't any one thing. It could be a night in with pizza and a film or it could be a deep conversation with your kid in the car or getting them involved with making the dinner etc so you can talk about the day.

Is there something stopping you? Are you shy or introverted?

My DS is an only child so I'm very conscious of organising play dates and making sure he gets a lot of time with other children. I'm quite outgoing though so I happily speak to other mums and make the first move. My family is quite close anyway so I'm always going round to see my mum and grandad and seeing extended family every couple of months.

I'm not good at organising playdates, I don't do the school run so don't know the parents apart from DDs best friend.

I make sure shes involved in clubs, she swims competitively and there isn't much scope for socialising there apart from at galas but she also does a bushcraft club which is less structured with time for playing and many of her friends including bf go there.

Family time looks different to everyone, Dd loves a boardgames.

We do lots but I often get to the end of a school holiday and feel like we haven't done anything even though really we have.