By For many couples with children it has been typical that the woman would be the primary care giver. Often times staying at home to care for the kids while her husband worked.
However, over the years this dynamic has changed a bit. A 2013 Pew study revealed that 40% of women were the main breadwinners in their homes. It is likely that number has risen over the years.
So what happens when a mother, who has always been the primary breadwinner, becomes a single mom? When you haven’t been the primary care giver for your child it can be quite a change.
In this weeks podcast interview I talk with Rachel who has recently become a single mom. After separating from her husband, she found herself struggling with being the primary caregiver.
Rachel had always been the breadwinner for her family while her husband took care of their baby. When they separated Rachel had to learn how to be both breadwinner AND caregiver.
Not many of us can understand what it’s like to find ourselves in tears at the grocery store because we don’t know what foods our baby likes. Rachel’s husband had always taken care of the shopping. She would leave in the early morning and get home from work after her baby was already down for the evening.
Not only did she have to learn all about her baby’s habits and routines, she had to find a way to move past the guilt she felt because she didn’t know these things.
In the past several months Rachel has been able to get into the groove that many of us is simply the norm. It took her quite a bit of work but things are finally going great for her and her daughter. She is settling into the single mom life and I have no doubt she will be very successful.
What do you think?