A single parent is, first and foremost, a parent. We have all the responsibilities any other parent faces, all the anxiety any other parent faces and all the joy any other parent gets from seeing our children growing up into the people we hoped they would be. Though I don't want this forum to become a place where we bemoan our terrible fate, there are a few differences between single parents and other types of parents. This means that having an Internet community for single parents will make a very real difference in our lives. And this is why: I spoke of responsibility, anxiety, and joy. A single parent has all the usual parental responsibilities, but typically carries them alone.

It's the single most common threat, and it appears in many disguises: "Wait till your father comes home." "When your mother finds out what you've done, you'll be in big trouble." "Can you imagine what Dad will think when he hears...?" Most parents have used this getaway, at least once. It's an escape hatch, so we can think. We need to figure out how we can really do something to this child to change this behavior.