To Much To Do Thursday

Let me start by saying It’s Sunday clearly I had To Much To Do Thursday! Just never seems like there’s enough time in a day to do even half of what is on our plate for that day. A few things I do to help me stay on track are :

  • Daily To Do List
  • Ask for and Accept help
  • Try my best to stick to a routine
  • Always stay positive
  • Self Care

I found a great article at http://www.lifehack.org called 13 Ways Working Moms Can Balance Work and Family ( And Be Happy ) by Katie Lemons. Balance is one if the areas I struggle with, especially the guilt I have feeling like I don’t spend enough time with my daughter.

Freestyle Friday

Child Anxiety

For Freestyle Friday I decided the topic would be child anxiety, the reason I chose this topic is because I am a single mom who has anxiety, and also who’s 11 year old daughter has anxiety so this topic was very interesting to me.

According to Anxiety and Depression Association of America, an astounding 1 in 8 children have an anxiety disorder. “The problem is not that your child gets anxious,” Dr. David Russ shares, who has over 30 years of experience treating children with anxiety. “The problem is that your child thinks something is way more threatening, dangerous, scary, distressing than it is in reality.”

Dr. David Russ, ADAA

Anxiety and Depression are two things that I am very familiar with. My daughter was diagnosed with Anxiety in 2015, after she was removed from my custody for a year and a half, due to my involvement in receiving and distributing illegal drugs, our house was raided. After Keyara was returned to my care she was Diagnosed with severe separation anxiety disorder, we are currently working with a therapist to help us both understand these disorders, and strive toward a happy, healthy life.

Works Cited

Outten, Leah. “My 10 year olds anxiety is worse than mine – but heres how we’re overcoming in together.” http://www.babble.com, accessed on 19 June 2019

Time to Talk Tuesday

Day Two!!! We made it through Monday ( some of us better than others ). Time to talk Tuesday is about taking the time to talk to my daughter about the uncomfortable conversations coming up very shortly in her life. Except for I have no idea how to even have those conversations! To the internet I go.

Talking to My Tween Daughter

The Middle School years are a time of magical blossoming, but like all huge transitions in our kids’ lives these times are very important. Since I was raised by my dad those important tween-age conversations we’re awkward for the both of us! I feel the biggest danger for tweens is losing the connection to parents while struggling to find their place and connect in their peer world. The biggest danger for parents is trying to parent through power instead of through relationship, thus eroding their bond and losing their influence on their child as she moves into the teen years. Before we as moms, even tackle any specific topics with our daughters, we are already up against the issues of image and peer pressure.

 Ideas for Conversation Starting

I found some awesome ideas for starting conversations with my tweenage daughter from a woman named Elisa Pulliam on http://mothersofdaughters.com

  • Tell me about the highlight of your day
  • If you could have a re – do would you change anything
  • Are there things that I’m doing lately that have been frustrating for you
  • What could I do to make you feel more supported
  • Tell me your thoughts on how your feeling about Middle School

Time to Start Talking

Parenting doesn’t come with a hand book, there are no right or wrongs ways to parent. I plan to continue my research and start using the resources I find to assist me in helping my tween through this monumental change in life. Just stay committed, don’t shy away from uncomfortable topics, find a style that works for you and your family, and stay talking.

Works Cited

Pulliam, Elise. “Conversation Starters for Connecting with Your Girls.” Mothers of Daughters, http://mothersofdaughters.com/ conversation – starters – for – connecting – with – your – girls / accessed on 17 June 2019

What’s For Dinner Wednesday

We made it half way through the week!!! Yesterday was about taking time to talk to your tweens, what better way to do that than at the dinner table? I’ll be the first to admit we don’t eat dinner together a regular basis, and this is something I struggle with as a single mom. It’s difficult, but it’s worth it. Some would say it changes your child’s life. In an article I read on Aha!Parenting.com called – Dinner : 30 Minutes to a More Connected Family, I learned some a lot about how eating dinner together as a family is important in a child’s life. A few of the reasons given that really stuck out to me were :

  • Families who eat together most likely talk more, which in return helps them stay connected, building better relationships.
  • It helps build structure in their lives, giving children something to count on every day offering a feeling of security, and consistency.
  • Families who eat together are more likely to have stronger open lines of communication.

The article goes on to talk about what a “Regular Basis” is when it comes to eating dinner together at a family, ( let’s be honest I’m not perfect seven days a week is not a possibility in this single moms life at the moment! ) Research shows that the more meals together, the better, meaning two meals are better than none, and four is much better than two. Basically what I get from this is I’m going to try and implicate more sit down meal times with my daughter and myself, also finding other opportunities beside dinner to communicate, and build a strong, loving, Mother – Daughter Relationship.

Works Cited

Markham, Laura Dr. “Dinner : 30 minutes to a more connected family.” Aha!Parenting.com. Accessed 21 June 2019

Motivation Monday

HERE WE GOOOOOO!!! First day of my new blog, and this mama is FREAKING OUT! Just a little bit about myself, My name is Rachel ( Obviously Lol ), I have a beautiful eleven year old daughter named Keyara, and once I figure out how to upload a picture of her, I will!

Okay so why Motivation Monday? Well first of all because Monday’s suck! Also it sounded kinda cool! Basically its about topics that I personally can relate to in my every day life as a single mom. I’ll share some super cool information that I find and I’ll link them to this to each post.. ( after I figure out how to do that too! )

MY MOTIVATION

Intro to Single Mom Strong Blog

Welcome to Single Mom Strong! My name is Rachel Bannister, I am a single mom to a beautiful Eleven year old daughter named Keyara. She is my world, my reason, and my everything. Being a single mom is definitely not easy, that’s why I’m creating this blog ” Single Mom Strong” to let you know your not alone, AND YOUR DOING AN AMAZING JOB!! I’m gonna keep it real I had to think of a way to keep myself fully engaged in this Final Blog Project, ( don’t judge me LOL ), and this is what I thought of:

  • Motivation Mondays
  • Time to Talk Tuesdays
  • Whats for Dinner Wednesdays
  • To Much to Do Thursdays
  • Freestyle Fridays
  • Self – Care Saturdays
  • Stay Strong Sundays

Each day will consist of information I have found useful or interesting, my own personal experiences, and references from other single mom blogs.

Self Introduction

So here goes my 1st blog ever!! My Name is Rachel Bannister I am a women/mother living in long term recovery from addiction. I have not used any mood altering substances since October 29th 2015. My recovery has given me a second chance to be the healthy, loving, and caring mom that my beautiful 11 year old daughter Keyara deserves,she is my reason for everything. My recovery has also made me employable again so that i am able to provide for my home, and be a productive member of this society.