Is there a difference between a single mom & a mom that is single?

I guess technically there is a difference. I feel like co parenting could be under the single parent umbrella though

I think it’s misused as well. I was also raised by a single parent. She was my adoptive mother and she chose to never date or marry.

To me, a single mum is a mum who is doing everything on her own and not co-parenting but everyone will have their own opinions x

Single mom- a mom who is the only involved parent
Mom who is single- pretty self explanatory, mom and dad are co parenting but no longer in a relationship with each other

I think there’s a difference too. I as well was raised by a single mom who did all parenting alone. No support of any kind from my father. No financial, no emotional, no physical etc., nothing.
So to me, a woman that has the support of her coparent is not a single mom. She might be single in terms of her relationship status, but if she has a coparent sharing the load evenly that’s not a single mom to me.
Just my opinion tho.

I was a single mom for 10 years dad met her one time and never lifted a finger or did anything for her. It would always annoy me when other people that were coparenting and their kids would go with dad for weekends and other times would try and come to me to tell me and try to relate to how hard it was. Like yeah it probably was hard for them but I didn’t get a break I didn’t get help financially or physically. It’s different but I never argued it I just let it be cause it is so misused…

I am soooooooo tired of this argument. It's so obnoxious to even think about. Why does it matter? Who is monopolizing single motherhood? Like we have to talk about sumn else eventually

If my husband hadn't put "single dad" in his dating profile after he was divorced, I probably wouldn't have wanted to date him. 🤷‍♀️ He explained the circumstances to me, so it's not like I was surprised by the fact that he was co-parenting but a "single dad".

No there is no difference. Any type of single mama can identify as a single mom if they want to. It’s not a one size fits all.

Unless it’s a 50/50 arrangement with the father ie split custody then you are a single mum in my opinion.

That’s a solo Mum. Mum who’s doing everything herself no coparenting no Dad in their life- solo mum. A single mum can be both solo or not but if you’re coparenting she cannot be a solo mum. If she has no partner but coparenting then she’s still technically, single.

But why does it matter? I genuinely want to know because I don’t understand why anyone would care if a woman calls herself a single Mum.

I agree there is a difference. I was a single mom to my first son for 6 years until we moved in with my current partner (his stepdad). His father was not involved much at all, and did not do any parenting or financial support. He had the odd visit with him here and there (it is still this way) because he has a serious substance problem. So I was a true single mom. I had my son 24/7 365 all alone and was supporting him alone with some help from my mother. That’s a lot different than co parenting where you get days or even a week off at a time and financial support. Even me having support from my mother made me less of a single mom than some I know who have absolutely no help.

I agree it doesn’t matter what a woman refers to herself as and the term is technically the same, it’s not inaccurate to say a mom who coparents is single if she’s not in a relationship especially with the child’s dad. I just think it’s good to recognize how much easier some moms have it and how much a lack of support can impact someone.

I believe single mom is different from ‘co-parenting’.

single mom doesn't mean lack of support, so when you put it that way, it sounds like a pity party of who has it harder

I use the term co-parenting as it sounds better lol but probably use that wrong because he sees them on average 8-10 hours a month and some times a long weekend in some school holidays every now and then. I guess people can call it what they like

I have been with my current partner for a few years and he is a great stepdad too so I dont see myself as a single mom to the kids that aren't his as he helps just as much.

Every situation different I guess

Not an argument or battle babes, just a poll! Don’t talk about it if it’s so obnoxious & tiresome of a topic for you. Have some self control. There’s no need to make anyone feel bad about thinking/wondering about certain things. Just because you feel a certain way toward a topic doesn’t mean everyone else has to have those same feelings. This is a POLL WORLD after all.

I mean your poll has an other option, so unless I'm calling people a bunch of funky hyenas, let's settle down bookie 😂😂

OP, it's less of an argument and more of offering another viewpoint. We all have it hard enough than to start trying to figure out who has it worse

Op respectfully ur post started off asking a ? And then u describe that YOU think the definition of single moms are bt the thing is ur opinion doesn’t matter and it’s very biased cuz it’s based on ur own moms experience. Monet is a widowed mom and Melanie is a doing it solo mom, there is no superiority here or a “who has worst or better” thing & ur post & opinion abt what single moms are is insinuating that there is.
We are all in solidarity that single moms get to identify as single moms if they choose to, and the term isn’t being misused. Ur moms situation was describing ONE scenario in single mom hood bt it’s not a one size fits all, there are many different definitions of what the term means cuz many moms are living different experiences & realities. And ur talking abt triggered & telling the ladies to have some “self control” lmao ur the one who made a post abt this topic on a mom app so I beg to differ on who is the one thats really triggered here babes

Lol it was a question I had & I wanted to know what people thought, hence why I posted it. I was saying what I think the difference is. Sue me 😂 At no point did I say that my mom had it hardest & it’s a competition & that’s the only situation that somebody can be labeled as a single mom. I NEVER said that. I simply stated my experience with a situation without alluding to anything. I’m not talking about triggered, you are. Things have been taken way out of context. My problem was with people saying they’re tired of this topic… then don’t entertain it because most of the women who commented on this post probably do t mind it & are actually contributing to the app in a positive way. Xoxo

you know the acknowledgment of that means a lot ❤️

Is this the Single Mom Olympics? Who's the most run down and overworked? I'm confused 😕

single mother, noun: a mother who does not have a husband or partner
-Merriam Webster

My sons dad sees him once a month for 4 hours. If I didn't have my partner I'd be a single mam as I really don't think that small amount of time constitutes an equal sharing

Don’t forget Solo
Mums , no partner no friends and no family.
If you’re a single parent you don’t have a partner . Just my opinion.

wait I thought solo parenting was when your partner/other parent is just at work or away and your parenting alone for the time they’re away

Just so everyone is aware I’m not even a single mom anymore so I really don’t have stake in this 🤣

Hell I feel like a single mum even having my partner with me and my baby 😂

typical lol 😆 sometimes I joke I wanna be a dad. I haven’t slept thru the night in 3 years meanwhile he sleeps thru every night 🙃 they really don’t need the term single mom at all. Mom covers it haha

Idk.. I think it’s a slap in the face to say you’re a single mom/dad while co parenting. Cuz I always looked at it as “single” as in 1.. I grew up with a single mom (never heard of the terminology solo mom/dad when I was little.. don’t even think that was a thing years back)

Obviously it’s not a competition between moms/parents. It’s just a terminology. I didn’t see “single mom” being used to say you’re a mom who’s single. It was a mostly negative term towards my mom cuz she wasn’t married and struggled.

I was her shoulder, I barred the weight as the 1st born. I would wake up wanting to sleep with her after a nightmare and instead finding her crying to sleep in her bed saying “I don’t want to do this alone, I can’t do this another day, ect”. I got into culinary school cuz I found a love of cooking cuz it ment my mom ate dinner if I cooked, cuz she had to eat what I made.. which ment she didn’t prioritize only us and starved herself after a 12hr shift in the factory

She didn’t have a man to protect her whenever she needed, she didn’t have a co parent to bounce ideas off of on how to deal with a situation or just vent, she didn’t have someone giving child support, taking us kids part of the week/trading off every week, she didn’t have someone helping with extra expenses like Xmas, sports, school supplies, extra curriculars in general, ect

She was completely alone. And it was harder, it was harder when she wanted to have 1/2 a shift instead of a full to finally be able to make our Xmas concert and her boss said she only could if she came to his house after his wife left to have sex.. then it’d get approved. Or all the shitty landlords that walked all over her..

Maybe I’m biased.. but all the work she put in.. it’s kind of a slap in the face for a co parenting mom to be like “oh I was a single mom, it was so hard raising 3 kids on my own” like my mil says.. when she in fact DIDNT.

Yes, all of it is hard.. but it’s just a slap in the face

it shouldn't be seen as a slap in the face because there are so many different types of families and that all comes with different levels of support. There are single moms with no family, no coparents, but are surrounded by support through friends and community. She wouldn't be any less doing it on her own. I think it's all about acknowledging no two families look the same and the challenges that exist within them aren't always apparent to outsiders.