Are your parents in denial of the reality of being a lone parent?

[poshsinglemum]

My parents found parenting extre,mely difficult (and they stayed together) yet they keep saying how wonderfully lucky to have such a well behaved dd. I can assure you that she is a typical willful 2 year old and at the moment I have no patience at all and keep screaming at her as she is sooo demanding. I am irritated at the slightest thing.

I can't moan to them as my mum is ill with cancer and I now get no support from them either. Just down and really fed up. I feel liek I am very much alone.

I mean this in the nicest possible way posh, but are you having any counselling? Every single post of yours is so negative wrt your situation as a single parent and it must be exhausting to feel this way all the time. Being a single parent is tough but you are a grown up. Your parents have their hands full with their own stuff, and the comment about your dd being so good is a compliment to your parenting believe it or not.

Posh - I think the truth is nobody gets it unless they've done it and, even then, some lone parents have it easier than others in terms of the support they have around them and their financial circumstances.

I'm sorry to hear about your Mum's cancer, that must be a huge added worry for you.

2 can be a hard age but time passes and they turn into delightful 3 year olds, then you get a really good few years before the hormones kick in and they become really annoying again.

Things will get better.

It IS hard having a 2 year old, it does get better honestly. And it's much harder doing it on your own, especially if you NEVER get a break. Your parents can't help you really if your mum's so ill, what a nightmare. My mother sometimes comments that she klnows what it's like- and I've told her that she doesn't actually, cos she always had my father earning the money, and my grandmother to mind us when we lived with her, and back then we were out all day long on our own from an early age and we walked ourselves to school from about 5 years old and there was no ferrying to after school clubs and play dates and what not. I do think it's harder now. But it gets better.

I just feel so enraged recently and poor dd is getting shouted at because I feel like I don't have much to give.

I sympathise posh.

At the moment, I feel very low, totally exhausted, mentally and physically, and wonder how much longer I can keep going on for.
DD is by far the most demanding in my house. She is 2.6 and I am finding it incredibly difficult.

She is also a joy sometimes, but bloody hell, it's been tough lately.

It can all be so relentless and frustrating.

I have my fingers crossed that XP is going to show up to pick her up tomorrow, to give me chance to recharge my batteries. Feels like one long long long battle at the moment.

portaloo (love the name) and posh I get how you feel. My DD is 11 and she is wonderful, I really have no reason to complain or take it out on her but life is so damn hard sometimes. You've just got to keep going, keep picking yourself up and going through each day as best you can for your little ones. One of my parents isn't here any more, the other one just seems to enjoy telling me what I'm doing wrong. I accept that my Mum is a b*tch, she doesn't have a maternal bone in her body and should never have had kids. I accept it, I expect her put downs and I move on, it's all I can do, and it's all you can do. Just know that you are doing the best you can for your chld(ren) and to tell with everyone else.

I sympathise. I agree with the poster who suggests you really do need to get some support to help your temper ... losing it with a small child is never good. Have you thought about counselling?