Having a child can significantly change a person’s life. It means waking up for late-night feedings, buying a bigger home, saving up for college tuition and adjusting to a whole new daily schedule focused on caring for a child.
Parents often have to make another significant change to their lives when they get divorced and must comply with custody arrangements. There is no doubt that this can be difficult, but instead of focusing on the challenges of single parenting, moms and dads can look at it as an opportunity to learn some important life lessons.
For example, many people have read about the divorced father who took an interesting approach to adjusting to his new role as a single dad: He learned how to braid hair.
The father is the primary caregiver for his 2-year-old daughter. Like most men, he had no idea how to do a girl’s hair, but he didn’t want his daughter to miss out on the experience of having her hair done in different styles. He approached students in the cosmetology department at the school where he works in admissions and asked for help with doing hair.
After some time, he was able to put his daughter’s hair in French braids, fishbone braids and ponytails. Images of his hair creations have been shared widely online and have been met with impressive compliments and praise.
This is a great example of how important it can be for parents to take a more positive approach to single parenting. Rather than focus on what he couldn’t do for his daughter, this man took the initiative to learn something that he could do to improve his relationship with his child and his role as her father.
While every obstacle that comes with single parenting can’t be overcome with a few classes and a newly-acquired talent, this story does remind us that there are little things that parents can do to make a tough situation a little easier. In the end, it may be these little things that actually make the biggest difference.
Source: The Huffington Post, “This Single Dad Couldn’t Do His Daughter’s Ponytail, So He Went To Cosmetology School,” Jessica Samakow, Feb. 2, 2015