As I’ve mentioned before, making an informed decision is important and in order to make an informed decision you must educate yourself about parenting and adoption. I’ve already talked about how to educate yourself about adoption, so today we will talk about how to educate yourself about parenting.

1. Seek out other mothers like you. If you will be a single mother, talk with other single mothers. If you will be a teen mother, talk with other teen mothers. Ask the mothers you talk with about the ups and downs of parenting, how they have been successful or unsuccessful, things they wish they had done differently, advice they may have for you, etc.
2. Visit websites for single mothers. Read the stories of other single mothers, participate in forum discussions, read the message boards, check out their resource lists, etc. Two great single mother websites are Single Rose and Single Mom.
3. Research what assistance is available to you as a single mother in your state. What assistance is available to you, are you eligible, and what is required of you to receive assistance?
4. Talk with your baby’s father. What will his role in the baby’s life be if you parent? Will he be co-parenting with you or will he at least be helping you out financially?
5. Talk with your family members and see what assistance they are willing to provide you with. Will they be able to help out with child care or give you a hand when things become overwhelming?
5. Sit down and write out how much money you would need monthly for housing, utilities, food, and other expenses. Make a budget and see if it is do-able.
6. If you will be working, think about child care and the costs involved. Will a friend or family member provide child care for you? Or will you have to put the baby in day care and how much will that cost?

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Related Posts:
Making an Informed Decision
Educate Yourself about Adoption
How to Educate Yourself about Adoption