Am I a Bad Parent?

This week we're discussing Am I a Bad Parent? Guilt has a way of arriving before the facts do. Your kid struggles, makes a bad call, or pushes back hard, and before you've had a second to breathe, the case against you is already building. Solo parenting doesn't come with a sounding board, and that silence has a way of confirming every fear you already had about whether you're getting this right. Robert Beeson, Founder & CEO of Solo Parent, Elizabeth Cole, single parent, and Amber Fuller, a counselor with a Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy (MMFT) and single parent, sit down for a conversation that gets honest about parental guilt, the noise of comparison, and what it looks like to find your footing as a parent when you're the only adult in the room. Key Insights from This Episode: Your child's behavior is not a verdict on your parenting. Their choices belong to them, not to your scorecard. The comparison trap is making it harder to trust what you already know. Your instincts are more accurate than your algorithm. Repair is available, and it matters more than perfection. Accountability without self-destruction is something your kids are watching you model. Stay Connected + Get Support: This podcast is made possible by members of The Table at Solo Parent. If this episode encouraged you, we'd love for you to join The Table by giving a recurring gift to keep these conversations going for the next single parent who needs them. Download our Solo Parent App Join a Solo Parent Group Learn more about Solo Parent Follow us on Instagram  

This week we're discussing Your Worth Is Not In Your Bank Account. Most of us have a voice that keeps score. It gets loudest when the money is tight, when the mirror isn't cooperating, when the approval we were counting on doesn't come. And for solo parents already running on less than they had before, that voice doesn't just whisper. It narrates. It connects dots. It turns one hard month into a whole story about who you are and where you're headed. Robert Beeson, Founder and CEO of Solo Parent, Elizabeth Cole, single parent, and Amber Fuller, a counselor with a Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy and single parent, get honest about the external scorecards we hand over authority to, and what it actually takes to stop letting them write the story. Key Insights from This Episode: The scorecards we use to measure ourselves often don't tell the full story: What feels like a verdict on who you are is usually just a measurement of a season. External worth markers, accomplishments, approval, and attributes, were never meant to carry you: When worth lives outside of you, you have to keep feeding it, and that's an exhausting way to live. Getting curious about the shame voice is more powerful than trying to silence it: Asking "is this the only story?" opens a door that positive self-talk alone keeps locked. Stay Connected + Get Support: This podcast is made possible by members of The Table at Solo Parent. If this episode encouraged you, we'd love for you to join The Table by giving a recurring gift to keep these conversations going for the next single parent who needs them. Download our Solo Parent App Join a Solo Parent Group Learn more about Solo Parent Follow us on Instagram  

This week we're discussing Self-Care Heading Into the Holidays. The holiday season has a way of catching you off guard, even when you think you're ready for it. Schedules shift, old traditions surface feelings you weren't expecting, and the pressure to make it magical for your kids while managing your own grief and budget can quietly take over. This conversation is for every solo parent heading into Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas wondering how to get through it with some intention and maybe even some joy still intact. Robert Beeson, Founder & CEO of Solo Parent, Elizabeth Cole, single parent, and Amber Fuller, a counselor with a Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy (MMFT) and single parent, bring their own lived experience to this one. All three have navigated the holidays solo and come with an honest perspective and practical tools to share. Key Insights from this episode: Grief doesn't follow a timeline - and the holidays will remind you of that: The grief that surfaces during the holidays doesn't care how long you've been a solo parent. Stuffing it down only delays the reckoning, and learning to make space for it is what actually allows joy to show up too. Managing expectations is the most practical form of holiday self-care: Planning ahead for the hard days, saying no to what doesn't serve you, and holding your traditions loosely are small moves that make the season more survivable and more meaningful. The memories your kids carry aren't made by the gifts - they're made by the emotion attached to the moment: The pressure to get everything right is real, but what your kids will actually remember has far less to do with what's under the tree and far more to do with how they felt when they were with you. Resources mentioned in this episode:  Tips for Surviving the Holidays Stay Connected + Get Support: This podcast is made possible by members of The Table at Solo Parent. If this episode encouraged you, we'd love for you to join The Table by giving a recurring gift to keep these conversations going for the next single parent who needs them. Download our Solo Parent App Join a Solo Parent Group Learn more about Solo Parent Follow us on Instagram  

This week we're discussing Now What? Rebuilding a Life Plan. At some point in the solo parenting journey, survival mode starts to loosen its grip just enough to ask a bigger question: what do I actually want to build from here? Getting to that question and knowing how to answer it is harder than it sounds when every decision lands on you and the old rulebook no longer applies. Robert Beeson, Founder and CEO of Solo Parent, sits down with Elizabeth Cole, single parent, and Marissa Lee, author and single parent, to talk honestly about what it takes to move forward with intention when the path isn't clear yet. All three have lived this, and what they bring to the conversation is grounded, practical, and real.   Key Insights from This Episode: Acceptance comes before a new plan - You can't build something new until you've told the truth about where you actually are. Slow down before making big moves - Decisions made in the middle of overwhelm deserve a buffer before you act on them. This season is real life, not a waiting room - The life you're living right now counts, and claiming it changes everything.   Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Becoming Mom and Dad: How God Fathers Through Single Mothers by Marissa Lee The 4 Tasks of Mourning Chip Dodd   Stay Connected + Get Support: This podcast is made possible by members of The Table at Solo Parent. If this episode encouraged you, we'd love for you to join The Table by giving a recurring gift to keep these conversations going for the next single parent who needs them.   Download our Solo Parent App Join a Solo Parent Group Learn more about Solo Parent Follow us on Instagram    

This week we're discussing The Self-Care You Actually Need. If someone asked you right now what you value most, could you answer? Not what you're supposed to say, not what made sense in a different season of life but what actually drives you today. Most solo parents, if they're honest, would pause. Not because they don't care, but because survival mode has a way of burying that question under everything else that needs to get done. Robert Beeson, Founder and CEO of Solo Parent, sits down with Elizabeth Cole, single parent, and Amber Fuller, a counselor with a Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy and single parent, to talk about what values-guided self-care actually looks like in the real, messy, full life of a solo parent. Together they unpack why so many of us don't know what we value anymore, how to start finding out, and why the answer is closer than you think. Key Insights from This Episode: Knowing your values is the foundation of self-care that actually works - when self-care isn't rooted in what genuinely matters to you, it just becomes one more thing to manage. Your values don't have to be figured out all at once -  they unfold - where you are emotionally shapes what your values look like right now, and that's allowed to change. What you keep returning to, even under pressure, is your truest guide - your values are already showing up in your life; the work is learning to notice them. Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Value Cards Adriana Girdler, Core Values Framework Stay Connected + Get Support: This podcast is made possible by members of The Table at Solo Parent. If this episode encouraged you, we'd love for you to join The Table by giving a recurring gift to keep these conversations going for the next single parent who needs them.   Download our Solo Parent App Join a Solo Parent Group Learn more about Solo Parent Follow us on Instagram  

This week we're discussing Self-Care When You Have No Margin. You know that feeling when someone suggests you take better care of yourself and your first reaction is a laugh? Not because it's funny, but because the suggestion feels completely disconnected from the day you're actually living. You already know you need it. You've thought about what it could look like, the morning routine, the workout, the quiet moment that doesn't get hijacked by something else. The knowing has never been the problem. The gap between knowing and actually pulling it off is what this conversation is about. Robert Beeson, Founder & CEO of Solo Parent, co-host Elizabeth Cole, a single parent, and contributor Amber Fuller, a counselor with a Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy and single parent, get honest about what self-care actually looks like when the margin is gone. Not the aspirational version. The real one, shaped around guilt and perfectionism and the particular exhaustion of being the only adult on call. Between the three of them, they've lived every version of this, and what they bring to this conversation is practical, grounded, and genuinely useful. Key Insights from This Episode: Both relief and restoration have a place, and telling them apart is what makes self-care actually work. One quiets the noise, the other fills you back up, and knowing which one you need changes everything about how you take care of yourself. Self-care is personal, and the best version of it is the one that actually works for your life. There is no universal prescription, and giving yourself permission to define it on your own terms is half the battle. Stillness is not passive, it is one of the most active and necessary things you can choose. Whether it looks like quiet, movement, laughter, or a good cry on the couch, getting still is where a lot of the real restoration happens. Resources Mentioned in This Episode: 40 Practical Ideas for Self-Care Stay Connected + Get Support: This podcast is made possible by members of The Table at Solo Parent. If this episode encouraged you, we'd love for you to join The Table by giving a recurring gift to keep these conversations going for the next single parent who needs them.   Download our Solo Parent App Join a Solo Parent Group Learn more about Solo Parent Follow us on Instagram  

This week we're discussing Becoming a Resilient Parent. Parenting was never meant to be a static skill. Your kid keeps changing, and that means you have to keep changing with them. From the toddler years to the teenage ones, every stage asks something different of you, and as a solo parent, you're the one who has to figure out what that is without another adult in the house to help you read the room. The fear of getting it wrong is real. So is the guilt of feeling like you're always one step behind. Robert Beeson, Founder & CEO of Solo Parent, sits down with Elizabeth Cole, single parent, and Amber Fuller, a counselor with a Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy (MMFT) and single parent, for an honest conversation about what it actually looks like to grow alongside your kids when every new season catches you off guard. Together they talk through why isolation makes hard seasons harder, how fear quietly drives more of our parenting decisions than we realize, and why self-compassion isn't a luxury but the actual foundation of resilience. Key Insights from This Episode: Resilience is built through open systems, not closed ones - when the only voice you're hearing is the one in your head telling you you're failing, it will keep saying that until something from outside interrupts it. Fear-driven parenting keeps both you and your kids in a box - the love-soaked, protective kind of fear can quietly close off the very relationship you're trying to protect. Self-compassion isn't optional, it's the foundation - if you're running on empty, you don't have the resources to show up for your kids the way you want to. Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Kristin Neff, researcher and author on self-compassion and resilience Dr. Dan Siegel, prior podcast guest known for his work on curiosity, connection, and child development Stay Connected + Get Support: Download our Solo Parent App Join a Solo Parent Group Learn more about Solo Parent Follow us on Instagram  

This week we're discussing When Money Problems Keep Knocking You Down. You did everything right this month. You tracked the spending, made the calls, kept the budget as tight as you could. And then something broke. Or a bill arrived that wasn't supposed to. Or the end of the month showed up before the money did. You're tired in a way that's hard to explain to someone who hasn't lived it, but you're not alone in it and you're not failing as a parent. What makes financial stress so relentless for solo parents isn't just the gap between income and expenses. It's that every unexpected hit lands on one set of shoulders. There's no one to split the worry with, no backup plan walking through the door. And over time, that pressure has a way of becoming something more than financial. It starts to feel like a verdict. Robert Beeson, Founder & CEO of Solo Parent, sits down with Elizabeth Cole, a single parent, and Amber Fuller, a counselor with a Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy (MMFT) and single parent, for an honest conversation about what it actually looks like to keep going when the financial ground keeps shifting. All three have lived it, and they bring that experience into a conversation that is equal parts real and hopeful. Key Insights from This Episode: Financial stress is as much an emotional wound as a practical problem -  the feeling of not having enough doesn't just hit your bank account, it hits your sense of self, and understanding that is where resilience starts. Shifting from victim mindset to agency is the beginning of real resilience -  moving from "why does this keep happening to me" to "what can I actually do" is the pivot that changes everything. Reframing hardship as a season, not a sentence, changes what's possible -  the hard chapter you're in right now is not the one that defines how the story ends. Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Previous Solo Parent Podcast: From Panic to Plan: Thriving as a Solo Parent on a Budget  Stay Connected + Get Support: Download our Solo Parent App Join a Solo Parent Group Learn more about Solo Parent Follow us on Instagram  

This week we're discussing Burnout: The Cost of Always Being Strong. Most single parents are not looking for a pep talk. They are looking for someone who gets it. Being the only adult in the house means the weight never really lifts. Every decision, every emergency, every moment that would be easier with a partner lands on one person. And at some point, being called strong stops feeling like a compliment and starts feeling like everyone's way of saying they are not going to help. Robert Beeson, Founder and CEO of Solo Parent, sits down with Elizabeth Cole, single parent, and Amber Fuller, a counselor with a Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy (MMFT) and single parent, to talk honestly about burnout, what feeds it, and what research and real experience say actually helps. Key Insights from This Episode: Burnout for single parents is not ordinary exhaustion. It is an invisible weight. The kind that shows up in your body, your relationships, and your parenting long before you have a name for it. Resilience is a skill built through connection, not a trait you either have or you don't. From doing a drain audit to changing the stories you tell yourself, there are practical ways to start building it today. Hope is one of the most powerful predictors of how long you can keep going. Not wishful thinking, but a grounded belief that things can get better, and that belief changes everything. Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Roadmap to Resilience by Donald Meichenbaum Ann Masten's research on resilience Stay Connected + Get Support: Download our Solo Parent App Join a Solo Parent Group Learn more about Solo Parent Follow us on Instagram  

This week we're discussing Redefining Resilience. You've done the math on resilience before, probably without realizing it. Measured yourself against some invisible standard of bouncing back, keeping it together, adjusting easily. And somewhere in the gap between that standard and your actual day, you quietly wondered if you were falling short. The truth is the definition most of us inherited doesn't account for what solo parenting actually demands, and this week's conversation is about replacing it with one that does. Robert Beeson, Founder & CEO of Solo Parent, Elizabeth Cole, single parent, and Amber Fuller, a counselor with a Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy (MMFT) and single parent, bring their own lived experience to a topic that touches every solo parent at some point. Together they unpack why the traditional idea of resilience can leave you feeling worse instead of better, and what a more honest, workable version of it actually looks like in the middle of a regular week. Key Insights from This Episode: Resilience isn't about bouncing back; it's about continuing to show up - Getting your feet on the floor, making it through the day, and showing up for your kids counts as resilience even when it doesn't feel like it. Survival mode is not a personal failure; it's a season - Naming where you are honestly is not defeat, it's the starting point for real progress. Measure progress, not outcomes - Comparing your everyday to someone else's highlight reel will always leave you feeling behind; what moves the needle is tracking whether you're moving in a direction. Stay Connected + Get Support: Download our Solo Parent App Join a Solo Parent Group Learn more about Solo Parent Follow us on Instagram