I never had a mother. How will this affect my little girl?
If you grew up in a home with a single father, and no mother, you have the unique experience of being fathered. When you’re raised by a single parent, you’re exposed to every facet of that parent’s personality and being…but you still felt the void of the parent who was missing from the picture.
In today’s video, we’re talking about ways to approach parenting if you grew up without a mom, and are unsure how to mother now that you have children of your own.
While many single parents try to fulfill the roles of both mother and father, children are still often left with a fear that, because they may have missed out on having one parent or the other, this will affect their ability to parent their own children. If you didn’t see motherhood being modeled by your own mother and didn’t have the experience of a mother-child attachment in your own life, you might be asking how this is going to impact you and your kids.
We encourage you to seek out mentors–other parents who can help model what it means to be a mom at different stages of a child’s life. As new moms, we all need mentors, no matter what–even if we had a mom ourselves. Groups like MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) are a great place to connect with other moms, as well as a mentor moms.
Most importantly, trust the deep love and attachment you feel for your child. Don’t let anxiety intimidate you. Be who you are and let yourself love that little girl.
Did you grow up without a mom or a dad? How did that impact your parenting later in life? We’d love to hear your story in the comments.
