Being a parent is enough of a demanding and full-time job.But being a single parent is even more challenging and takes up even more of your time. Life is so hectic it reaches the stage where you begin to lose your identity and only think in terms of your children and their needs. But this isn’t healthy – everyone needs ‘me’ time in order to stay sane! Time to be alone and be peaceful, time for thinking space and time to selfishly consideryourself, removed from the family context. But with such a manic routine, how on earth do you prise even a few minutes of ‘me time’ out of your day? Here are a few pointers…

Find a reliable babysitter…

This is definitely the place to start: a local babysitter who gets on well with the kids, who you trust and who doesn’t mind being called out at short notice. This means that when you’re invited somewhere or want to go and see a play or whatever might come up you’ll be able to go without feeling guilty about abandoning the kids.

Find time while they’re sleeping…

Take advantage of the time when the house is quiet and your children have been tucked in for the night. This is a great time to invite friends over for a catch-up over a glass of wine, watch that French film you’ve been dying to see or scour some online dating London websites. Also, try to get up earlier in the morning so you have that little bit of headspace before the children wake up.

Let them have some time with the family…

Your family are probably always badgering you to let them see the children more often. Jump on the offer and make sure the kids see their family routinely – maybe even on a particular day of the week they could go and have dinner with their grandparents? Your family will be flattered by being given the responsibility of your kids and you’ll get a bit of time to yourself.

Take some days off…

Make sure you don’t take all of your holiday to coincide with the school holidays. Every once in a while, take a day of annual leave just for you. Then, do whatever you want with it – whether that’s going on a date or going on a road trip to see an estranged friend.

Make the most of your lunch hour…

Many people sit and work through lunch, despite being given a recommended hour. Try to get out of this habit and make the most of this time. Go for a walk and explore the neighbourhood of where you work. You’ll be thankful for the hour of quiet thinking time.

Establish a routine…

Work ‘me time’ into your regime. This could mean having a set night of the week for the family visit, for the babysitter to come over,or for the children’s other parent to take them for a bit so you can go out. Children are comfortable in the safe reliability of a routine, so make sure you work your ‘me time’ into everyday life.

Whether you use it to browse dating websites or catchup with friends, ‘me time’ is essential for everyone’s sanity and well-being. Make sure you find some!

CNN.com recently did an article on this topic, because it seems that a Spanish mom, Maria Del Carmen Brousada, died recently at age 69…after using reproductive technology (in vitro fertilization and a donor egg) to conceive and bear twin boys just 3 years ago…boys who are now preschoolers with no mommy.

The fertility community doesn’t always  agree on the benefits and drawbacks of having a child so late in life.  Most of the time, doctors and other fertility professionals draw the line at 55, but that’s kind of arbitrary and there are no laws to enforce it.   And frankly sometimes women lie about their age, as Senora Broussard did.  Fertility specialists usually take a hands-off approach to judging the morality of the situation–if you want a baby and the medical procedures work, there’s no reason for them to forbid it just because you’re older than the typical mother or father.

There are also some benefits that older parents have, that younger parents may not.  Older parents tend to have been in a stable marriage for a long time, and they tend to be more financially stable than younger couples are.  And a huge percentage of people the age of grandparents, in their 50′s, 60′s and 70′s, are already raising their grandchildren, so why not their own child?

But many people are concerned about the problems facing families with older parents.  The one that comes to mind immediately is the problem faced by Senora Broussard’s children–older parents are closer to natural death, and what will become of children who lose their mother or father at such a young age?  Obviously, anyone can die unexpectedly,  but the older one gets, the less unexpected death is.

There are other issues, too.  The sheer energy level required to parent infants and toddlers comes to mind.  I’m in my 30′s and sometimes find it’s beyond me, and if late nights and sleeplessness are hard now, how hard will they be for someone in her 60′s?

So much of the new reproductive technology is incredibly positive for people trying to create or care for a tiny new life.  But just because we can do something doesn’t necessarily mean we should.  At the very least, we need more standardization and a lot more ethical debate about this subject.

It is the modern age and for most people, the need to sacrifice is apparent. The same is the case when it comes to daily routines where parents have to report for work thus being forced to surrender kids to daycare centers. The problem is when a parent worries on how his or her child is doing. The TLC Learning Academy in Southaven may have a solution for that.

The TLC Learning Academy in Southaven should prove to be a fit gauge to this concern. TLC has live streaming video cameras — 21 in total throughout the center. Each is accessible online so parents can watch their children while at work.

Shari Robbins, the program director at TLC, said the kid-vision cameras have been a great selling point for parents. She added that they’re also a great tool for keeping an eye on TLC’s employees. “We want to have that accountability so parents know we’re doing our job,” she said.

The program is password-protected and completely secure. Each child can have up to three adults with access to the live feed. Robbins said some families use this as a way for out-of-town grandparents to see their grandchildren.

(Source)My Fox