Neil White

There is a huge difference between being a single parent and being single and a parent. You see, if your former partner actively participates in your child’s life, provides you with necessary support and is there for them when they need them, you can still be in an advantageous position. However, even if they’re giving it their best, it will still be a bit more difficult running a household with this type of limited support. Then again, there are scenarios where your former partner is not as committed as they should be. In that case, it falls to you to provide your kid with all the parental guidance they need. Sure, it’s better to have one good parent than two lousy ones but this doesn’t mean that such a thing is easy to pull off. After all, you are doing a two-person job on your own. With that in mind and without further ado, here are several tips to help you raise a child on your own. Here are several tips on how you can make it as a single parent. 1. Always have time for them The biggest challenge when you’re a single parent is finding enough time for… well, anything. Now, even though you won’t be able to do everything, you need to get your priorities straight. Your child is always your No.1 priority. Take some time to talk to them every day. We’re not talking about the regular discourse of you responding to their feedback (that they’re hungry, thirsty, want to go to the bathroom, want to go outside, etc.), we’re talking about actual conversation. Try to see what’s bothering them and ask them if they have any questions. Remember that even if you’re a working single parent, it’s incredibly important that you keep in mind that it’s the quality of time that counts. Set aside time every single day. While you’re with them, don’t check your emails, don’t multitask and don’t think about anything else. Kids can tell these things and this will make them feel less valuable in your eyes. 2. Look for some help Just because you’re a single parent, this doesn’t mean that you can or should do it all on your own. You will probably have to find someone to take care of the kids while you’re working, which is no easy task. Your closest family members are away and finding a reliable babysitter is far from easy. Even by paying attention and having the strictest of vetting processes, you can’t be 100% sure that you’ve made the right choice. The safest solution is for you to start an online search by typing –a childcare centre near me. However, this is not the end of your journey. What you need to do is check the options, credentials and reputation that this centre has. Keep in mind that you’re doing your very best in order to provide your child with the childhood they deserve. This is why you need to make sure that even this “downtime” (in terms of your time together) is as good as possible. In these institutions, your kids will socialize with others, develop new skills and adapt to a new type of (communal) lifestyle. It goes without saying that this will help them develop skills to benefit them throughout life. 3. Help make them self-reliant Another thing you need to keep in mind is the fact that you need to teach them to be self-reliant. There are three reasons why parents do things for their children that the children can do on their own. These are: • It’s quicker for the parent to do it. • It’s safer for a parent to do it. • The parent enjoys doing it. While all three have some sense, the thing is that you need to think about the long-term benefits and consequences of taking away responsibilities from your child. The first thing is selfish, seeing as how you value your time more than your personal development. The second one is irrational, seeing as how the worst consequence is usually a minor scratch or bruise. The last one is understandable but, from the long-term perspective, you need to put the well-being of your kid ahead of your own desires. 4. Bring them on board Make sure that your kid feels like a full-fledged partner. Give them some chores, not because you want them to do something but in order to help you out. This will teach them to carry their own weight in any relationship. It is something that their future partners and roommates will be grateful for. Also, this is a great way to teach them the value of money. It’s not just about the price – it’s about whether they’ve earned something or not. Just remember that you need to choose the right measure. These tasks shouldn’t feel too difficult so that they’re not interpreted as a punishment. At the same time, they shouldn’t be too simple. This way, they won’t seem like real responsibilities. It is important that they understand what is necessary. Also, bear in mind that you will have so much on the plate that even a minor task makes all the difference. Sure, you want to shield them from some of the responsibilities of the adult world but covering them too much can backfire horribly (as we’ve discussed in the previous segment). 5. Tell them no Parents are incredibly subjective when their children are in question, especially if they’re single parents. This leads to all sorts of scenarios where kids try to abuse the situation and guilt-trip you into acting the way they want you to act. What you need to do in these scenarios is learn how to tell them no. This is the most important aspect of their self-development. Your kid needs to learn that they can’t get everything they want just because they want it. This will prepare them for life. This is the best way to avoid raising your child to be entitled or spoiled. Life is full of rejections and being good at life is about getting to terms with rejections or finding effective ways to overcome them. Just make sure that you never support, endorse or tolerate negative behaviour. 6. Take care of yourself The very last thing you need to take into consideration is that your kids are learning by example. They are evolutionary conditioned to depend on you for survival. This means that they have heightened senses when it comes to recognizing your emotions. After all, you’re getting 100% of their focus and attention and every change in your physical and mental state might affect them, as well. This is why, despite the tremendous stress and workload that you’re under, you can’t afford to neglect yourself. Invest as much time and effort as you can towards self-care. This will help you become a better role model for your kids. This will also help you feel better in your own skin and enjoy being a single parent. In conclusion Early childhood is more important than you would expect it to be. Children are learning by observing you, analysing and interpreting your feelings. This is why you need to be very careful how you act around them and be extra careful what you say and do when you think they’re not listening. They’re always listening and they are memorizing your every step. This means that trying to fake it won’t work. You need a system and you need to believe in it with all your heart.

Video conferencing has become very popular these days. Tons of business owners have decided to switch to this form of meetings due to its efficiency and many advantages. Amongst many others, these are some of the best reasons why you should consider doing video conferencing in your business from now on. Improves communication One of the first and most important advantages of videoconferencing is the fact that it improves communication amongst employees. People are visual beings and as such, we process visual information a lot faster and in a more efficient way than information that is served via audio or text. So far, around 62% of executives have claimed that videoconferencing has managed to improve the communication in their company exactly due to this reason. No matter what kind of business you lead, communication is the key to success. Whether you are an already established company that has been running their business for years, or you are just starting out, working on your communication is very important if you want to achieve and maintain the success of your business. On top of that, the current COVID-19 situation is making it really complicated to hold effective meetings and conferences in person, so video conferencing is a perfect option for maintaining contact and communication amongst your employees. You can use video conferencing to hold weekly meetings, monthly meetings, or even quick last-minute meetings when you need to inform your employees about certain changes at work. Helps build relationships Nothing can replace face-to-face meetings. This is where people get to know each other and create personal connections. You get to see people’s facial expressions, read their body language and hear them talk in person. However, what happens when people have to constantly travel to attend those meetings? There are certain meetings that are worth travelling for, but if it needs to be done repeatedly there are more disadvantages than advantages. Here is where video conferencing is very useful. Not only does it allow you to hold meetings with your employees whenever you need to, but it is actually a great replacement for in-person meetings. During the COVID-19 lockdown, this replacement has been proven to be very effective in recreating the best possible face-to-face meetings many companies have had in a while. Video conferencing can help bridge the gap for the regular meetings you need to hold with your employees in order to keep the company running smoothly all while maintaining great communication. Plus, video conferencing creates a great personal connection amongst workers. Technology has improved so much over the past decades and now we are able to hold meetings with tons of people online and have things run as smoothly as ever. Saves money Believe it or not, incorporating video conferencing in your business can actually save you a lot of money. Video conferencing can offer a very effective replacement for face-to-face meetings while lowering the expenses for travelling. Not only do you not have to pay for the constant travelling of your employee just so they could attend your meetings, but your options expand as well. Think about how many creative and talented people from all around the world you can hire and work with without any limits. You can work with people from many different cultural backgrounds that can bring new and fresh ideas into the company. You can make great connections all around the world simply because the technology allows you to work and partner with just about anyone from anywhere in the world. The options are endless and they are all at the palm of your hand. Use this opportunity wisely. Saves time Another great advantage of video conferencing is that it saves you a lot of time too. First of all, when you cut the time your employees waste on travelling to get to the meeting, you already saved some time. They can just log in from the comfort of their home office and be in the meeting within seconds. This can also allow you to hold meetings more frequently and gather your employees last minute if it is urgent. If you think about it, no matter where you are you can always hold meetings without any limitations. All you need is a good working Wi-Fi and any device that can allow you to log in to your platform. It can be your laptop, tablet, phone, or computer. It is simple as that. Streamlines collaboration There are tons of apps that allow you to use features like chats, file sharing and video calling for free. Apps such as Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Skype, Zoom, and others are all great platforms where you can stay in touch with your employees and hold meetings. Not only can you chat and send files but you can also make appointments for the video calls. In addition to that, there are extra helpful features there such as screen sharing that allows you to share your screen with all of the participants in the video call. That way, you can easily present a new project or a task you are working on. Improves efficiency By using all of these effective features such as screen sharing, real-time collaboration, chatting, video calling, you are essentially improving the efficiency of your meetings. Everything is easily done with just a few clicks, everyone can attend the meeting no matter where they are, and you are all able to hear and see each other through your screens no matter what device you use. You save money and time and you can hold meetings even more frequently than usual. All of this contributes to the improvement of the efficiency of your meetings. Increases productivity By using video conferencing, you are making it easy for people to collaborate on documents they are working on in real-time. You don’t need to bother with connecting more than two email chains. You don’t have to struggle to look for lost emails. This can create confusion and waste your precious time which as a result can negatively impact your team’s productivity. It’s all simple and easy when you are all using one platform and all your documents are in one place. Everyone gets to collaborate and be productive in one space. When you’re able to just hop on a call and collaborate with all of your employees at the same time and in real-time, you are allowing everyone to have their voices heard and all of the feedback gets received immediately. All of the questions get answered within seconds. Anything that may cause confusion can be cleared up quickly and easily. It just makes communication within the team a lot easier and quicker which can boost and improve the productivity of everyone working on a project. Makes scheduling meetings easier Scheduling regular meetings can be a nightmare, especially if a lot of your workers have to travel. It can be a real challenge to find the time that works for everyone and organise the meeting on time. Finding the right place and time can be tough as well as making sure that everyone can be there. However, with video conferencing, people can join the meeting no matter where they are. They can be sitting in their bedroom, in a cab, a café, airport, or hotel room. No matter where they are, they can just log in and join the video call as long as they have a stable Wi-Fi connection. This will make it easier to organise and hold meetings whenever you need them. Creates consistent, accurate records Firstly, by being able to hold meetings more regularly, you will be able to keep track and records your progress and what’s happening. Not only that but also being able to look back on what you discussed during the meeting is a lot easier with video conferencing. Your meetings can be transcribed and all the information you need is neatly organised in one space and on one platform where you can browse through the main points made in the meeting and use them for future reference. It is just a way more organised way of keeping records. Enables live events Lastly, no matter how many people you want to connect with, video conferencing can make it easy for you. You can connect with a single client, a smaller team, or the entire staff via video conferencing. This method allows you to share your message virtually with anyone who can join the video call. The options are versatile when you use video conferencing. You can hold regular meetings, panel discussions, product launches, webinars, and other events for the audience no matter where in the world they are. Conclusion All things considered, video conferencing seems to have many great advantages. It can save you a lot of money and time. You can easily connect with anyone no matter where they are. It increases the productivity and efficiency of the meetings, and it offers versatile options. These are some of the main reasons, why you should consider using video conferencing for your meetings and other business events.