Am I a lone parent? Single parent? What's the difference?

[MamiLove]

I know it might be obvious to many of you, but I don't know if I am a lone or a single parent. XP and I recently split and we have 1 lovely daughter. She lives with me but sees him regularly, and we both pay for her expenses.

you can be whatever you prefer mami!

But I thought lone parent was only if you cared for the child just yourself... for example, I have a friend whose XP abandoned her and the baby when she was pregnant, and he never came to meet her daughter or help her financially. I don't think it's the same situation, because my daughter still has her two parents, while hers has only one.

I don't think there are any rules .. government agencies used to refer to single parents where now they use lone parent
I suppose because you might be providing bulk of care for your dc but in another relationship
There really aren't hard and fast rules
pick which you like!

No difference but single parent sound better IMHO, lone parent sounds more needy?

Better not to label ourselves at all, I'm just my child's mum!

You are whatever you want to be, the terms are interchangable.

I assume that lone parent is because it is more clear it is about parenting etc, whereas single gives the impression that you are not seeing anyone.

As and when I begin dating, I will not be looking for a father for a good long while, so even if my status isn't single, I will still be a lone parent.

Does that make sense?

I see it's complicated... so yeah, just my child's mum sounds better ;)