‘My best friend thinks I’m crazy for not bringing the kids out to sleep’

Sometimes you can’t figure it out on your own and you could use some advice. Every Tuesday a reader therefore tells about her dilemma.

Shya (28) is a single mother of Elijah (5) and Janice (3).

“Twice I fell for a man I wanted to start a family with, twice they already abandoned me during pregnancy.

So for three years I have been a single mother, without fathers with the slightest interest in a visitation arrangement. It’s tough, but it’s also fun. The bond with my children is very strong; I’m the only one they have. That also makes it difficult for me to let them go. They go to daycare when I work. Sometimes I take an afternoon off to catch my breath. I don’t want to take more time for myself.

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mother hen

My best friend thinks I’m too big a hen. She’s afraid she’ll collapse under the pressure of single parenthood, and she thinks I’m crazy for not letting the kids sleep over every once in a while. But they are both homesick. The oldest has asthma, and administering his medication is not something I easily relinquish. And I don’t want to burden others with my responsibilities.

With that collapse it is not so bad for the time being; As long as they’re still in bed before eight o’clock at night, I can take care of myself. Only on hectic days when everything goes wrong at once do I sometimes hear my girlfriend’s voice. Am I really too big a hen and should I get more help with the care of my children?”

More episodes of the dilemma? Every Tuesday there is a new story on KekMama.nl. Read the previous dilemmas here.