“I am a Single Mom.”  When we say those words, we are immediately judged, looked down upon and stereotyped, all within a matter of seconds and in many cases, immediately treated differently.

I’ve had women say, “Oh, I’m sorry,” as if to offer their condolences for a death in the family.  It amazes me that an apology would be the response for stating that I am a single mom.  I’m not sure what exactly they’re sorry about but if you are reading this and have offered your condolences to a woman who states that she is a single mom, you should be ashamed of yourselves.

When I sit back and ponder that entire situation, I have to believe that people believe the myths associated with single mothers, thus, they want to feel sorry for us.  Just turn on the television and if you have never personally known a single mother, you can see us being portrayed on varies scripted and reality shows and it is not always a true representative of who we are.

I interview single moms all the time and I always ask the question, “Do you think that people look down on single moms?”  The answer has been an overwhelmingly, “Yes!”

Here are a few of those myths about single moms and the truth…

Myth #1:  Single Moms are Sexually Irresponsible

Single moms don’t have protected sex, which results in children born out of wedlock.

Truth:

Just because a woman is a single mother does not mean that she was sexually irresponsible.  There are many women who are now single mothers because of divorce, their spouse passed away or because a long-term relationship ended, not because of a drunken night of unprotected sex. [Read more…]