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So, usually im quite positive in terms of me being able to parent my son alone. But, today i feel very lonely, i feel as if very few peo[ple understand and i'm struggling to accept that i am single parent.
I try so hard, every single day, just like anybody else and im having one of those days where i just feel so worthless and rubbish, as if im not good enough.
I look at nuclear families and just wish that ine day, ill have this, one day ill have the support in this sense. (although, i know all families have difficulties). #Im completely jealous of nuclear families, and i feel that somtimes the 'help in hand' from a partner, can be taken for granted.
IO need some support please, thank you.,
Hi, thanks for the reply. Ive been lone parenting since day 1, but my child does have brief contact with the father, although its certainly not enough in my eyes and the whole of responsability is pushed onto me. In one sense, when the father visits, i feel like im parenting two babies, not just one. He rarely talks to me, which makes me feel even more alone, we're certainly not parenting together.
I have support from my family, although they dont fully understand. I know very few single parents at the moment. I did attend toddler groups, but now my child is growing up, hes attending preschool alone, so that o[ption has now gone really.
I love the love that we share between the two of us, its special and the bond we have due to us being the only two in our little family, is phenomenal. I do get jealous when my child sees his father mind, and i get very angry.
Im glad this is here to offload onto.
Hi pink lilly
We are always here to talk to. I know you were facing a big change with your little boy going to pre school and wondering how it would be....and you were being very positive about that "me time" and yet now he is settling in, maybe you are finding it hasn't freed you up as much as you had imagined?
Also it is VERY annoying when his dad is involved so little and you're the one left carrying the can. It feels like you are thinking that your boy's dad does not deserve the pleasure of his son's compnay because he is so sporadic at the contact. That may or may not be true, but one way to cope is to think that your boy is the one getting the input, not his dad 
I endorse what Mary says....it is hard, hard work but you are the number one star in your little boy's heaven.
Hi louise, yeh thats true. I do forget from time to time, that its about my son, rather than 'the father'. During the visits, this is quite easy to forget to be honest. I know its a positive thing for my son, and i wish for the contact to continue,
I think its easy to forget sometimes, how much you play a part in a childs life. Im proud of what i do for my son and ill never give up. Yesterday was a bad day :( i dont like having these 'bad days'.
I know, but we all have them. One thing you can do (on a good day) is make a little box or tin and make it your bad day box (I call them Eeyore days) Into the box you can put anything you want....a special drawing your child has done, a few cards you have made yourself with positive statements on them such as "I am the centre of X's world" and "I am the best mum that I can be", a free sample of nice perfume you picked up in town, a tiny book of poems, a favourite pack of sweeties...
It is easier, when you have a bad day, to get that box out the cupboard than it is to try and think of all the nice things off the top of your head 
oh wow - thats a really good idea, im going to start one of these tins. I suppose when youre in a bad modd/having a bad day, thats all you really think about is all the difficult stuff. Thank you.
You're welcome. I just know that when I feel really low, I find it almost impossible to imagine that it is only temporary, so I had the idea of the tin. Let us know what you put in yours
Beautiful idea Louise!
One thing I guess I would do to try and stay in some kind of loop is if the time is available to you - offer some voluntary support to mum's n tot's groups?
It gives you the chance to be the listening role and remember just how hard those early years are. Not that the 'now' ever gets any easier. I always thought single parents kind of draw to each other - I know of three mums who are single parents and even 2 who are with second partners. One thing that keeps me from idolizing the 'nuclear' family is remembering that a lot of mum's (if not nearly all) feel very alone and almost like a single parent when the father has little input into the childrens lives. I do argue that even just help with finances and paper work would be just a bit easier but is it worth a second adults worth of mess and clothes and food to concern myself over?
So yeah... 'happily married'? I have always argued that 'happy' is a passing emotion not an end goal.
And like the others have said, Being no.1 is great. I find it really hard to share the attention my kids give, but actually, I prefer 1-1 interactions always. I blame it on being an only child! :)
Hi pink lilly,
Sorry to hear you had such a rough day yesterday. Can I ask how long you've been lone parenting for? I'm also wondering about your support system - do you have friends &/or family nearby to talk to or help out? Are any of them single parents?
I won't lie, it can feel incredibly hard work to bring a child (or children) up on your own. There are days when, for a multitude of reasons, you can feel that you're not doing a good enough job, that you can't fulfill the role of both parents, that your child/children deserves better than what you can offer.
But...and its a big but...having your child's love 'to yourself' is amazing. I know my daughter & I are much closer as a result of living together as a little unit. & when she is upset or ill (despite now having a good relationship with her dad) it's me she wants. Her love for me is astounding & I'm sure your little one loves & needs you just as much.
Are you involved in any mother & toddler groups? I got enormous support from the one A & I went along to when things were really bad. And you can always come onto the boards & talk/off load on here when it feels like a struggle.
Hugs x