6 Tips on How to Start Exercising
by Em Pointer Exercise is one of those things that all too often we say we’ll do and then we don’t really know where to begin, so we put it off and then life gets in...
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Stories
We hear hundreds of stories from single parents each year. Read some of these stories here, using our topic filter to help you find stories that are relevant to you.
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Why it’s important to exercise as a parent
by Em Pointer As soon as you become a parent, exercise often goes out of the window. Whether it’s due to sleep deprivation or driving back and forth to all the weekend activities, our priorities change...
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“Taking a moment to exercise feels like an act of self care”
Nicky’s single parent story
Nicky is a single parent to two children, Margot (11) and Ferris (8), and a firm believer in the power of exercise for both mental and physical health. Juggling a busy family life with running...
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‘Everything is double and yet we end up with half’- Carly’s single parent story
I am Carly, single mum to Ezra. He is almost 4, so he was not even 2 years old when we first went into the pandemic. I do not co-parent, so I am doing the...
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”We must choose our battles, and not try to constantly slay dragons.”
Sharon’s single parent story
“Sharon” (not her real name) is an African-American single mother who moved to London to work and study.
In July 2018, my brain melted. Literally. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had a blood clot in my brain. There were no previous neurological symptoms in my medical history. The week before...
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”It was a rocky start but I am very proud of my journey”
Julia’s single parent story
Julia is a single mother with 2 kids. Originally from Brazil, she came to the UK to study and now works full time as a Violence Against Women and Girls advisor.
When I first started my journey as a single parent, I was fairly young. At the time I did not have a support network, my education being secondary school level, and I was on a...
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”If you look for it, you can often find the support that you need”
Tracy’s single parent story
Tracy is a single mum to a son aged 18 and a daughter aged 11. She has been a single parent ever since her son was born.
As a single parent I’ve always had to be self-reliant. I was even in the labour room on my own when my son was born! But I’ve also learned that it’s important not to be...
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‘Between us we’ve recreated what the family is’
Victoria Benson shares what Single Parents’ Day means to her
When I became a single parent I had six children at home. It was a time of huge change and I didn’t know where to start. I felt completely on my own, I had nowhere...
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Single Parent History: the history of Gingerbread
by Professor Patricia M. Thane, visiting Professor in History at Birkbeck, University of London, and the author of a number of works including ‘Sinners? Scroungers? Saints? Unmarried Motherhood in Twentieth-Century England’, a history of Gingerbread...
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Single Parent History: Emmeline Pankhurst
civil disobedience and political activism
By Dr Sue Jones. Sue has taught at Birkbeck, University of London and University of Plymouth. She lives a double life, researching seventeenth century piracy and working in the Gingerbread advice team. Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928) is...
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