40 Men Are Sharing What It’s Like to Be a Single Father

When you’re the father of a young child, it goes without saying that you’ll have to buy them presents every once in a while. Unfortunately, for some parents, some kids are a bit more demanding in regards to what they get and how often they get it. Oh well, it doesn’t hurt to indulge, right?

This kid might want a toy car every time he goes out shopping with his dad, but at the end of the day, a toy vehicle is a small price to pay to put a smile on your child’s face, don’t you think? It’s small things like this that can create a lasting bond between parent and child.

Being a single father means something else when you have a daughter. There’s no mom to play pretty princess or tea party or to paint nails and do hair. So, if your daughter is into those kinds of things, it all falls on dad and his willingness to comply with her wishes.

Thankfully, most loving fathers can agree that something as minor as masculinity, pride, or appearances is no obstacle when it comes to making their daughter happy. After all, at the end of the day, should you care more about the opinions of strangers or the way your daughter thinks of you?

A father has to teach many things to his kid, especially if he’s a single father who has to take up the maternal role as well. One such important trait to impart to a child is that of patience, and fishing in them is definitely a good way to do that.

Because of all the activities you can go out and do for fun, fishing is the one that doesn’t offer instant gratification, and the reward is usually nothing more than personal satisfaction. Needless to say, teaching kids to value both of those things at an early age isn’t particularly easy to do.

There are a lot of very important things to take into consideration when it comes to parenting, but sometimes, it’s the small things that really build the relationship between father and child. A temporary tattoo is the definition of a small thing, but such things often make a child very happy.

Of course, we can understand why a single father would hope for such things to stay as mere entertainment, but frankly, it’s about time for society to move past the idea of tattoos being undesirable in one light or another. Not to say that there are no bad tattoos, of course…

Even toddlers know what they want and when they want it, and that knowledge often ends up being the source of many headaches for a single father. Thankfully, some toddlers are a little more subtle about their wants and needs and don’t need to scream or cry about them — a good sign of intelligence.

This toddler, for instance, decides she doesn’t need to say anything to her father to get her desires for breakfast across to him. Some toys were good enough to do the job, and who can really blame her anyway? Doesn’t everyone want to eat bacon for breakfast on the regular?

Let’s be honest — Father’s Day usually plays second fiddle to Mother’s Day, but when you’re a single father, you’ve actually got a bit more of an even playing field since there’s no competition. When that’s the case, you might actually be lucky enough to get something as awesome as a pizza ax!

Of course, it takes more than one awesome gift to pay for all the work that goes into being a single father, but at least a gift like this proves your kids are really thinking about what you would like and what would make you happy on Father’s Day. Being a single dad isn’t all about struggle.

Parents play games with their kids, and in many circumstances, they tend to be better at those games than their kids are. This necessitates holding back in most cases, but when your son is just this bad at ‘Hide and Seek,’ there’s really not much you can do other than pretend to be blind.

Personally, we think that parents should be merciless once their kids get to a certain age. After all, how are they supposed to get better at the game if they don’t learn which hiding spots suck? Teaching them through a real competition is the responsibility of a single father.

Being a single dad means working on a lot of school projects with your children. Whether it’s a diorama, a video, a presentation, or something else, you’ll probably have your hands busy with lots of work over the elementary years at the very least. Needless to say, this sometimes tests one’s creativity.

Thankfully, though, your kid might be the creative one — and all you have to do is the heavy lifting for her little unicorn box thing. But that also means you’ll carry a lot more of the blame if you mess something up and don’t manage to meet your kid’s immaculate design.

Children aren’t the most rational people in the world, which means they often ask for ridiculous things that serve no real purpose or meaning to an adult. But, as a single father, the real-world value of your child’s whims is not important. Whatever they ask of you, you do it without question!

Because why does a stuffed bunny rabbit need a bath? It doesn’t, in the grand scheme of things, and if you don’t give it a bath, will your kid ever really know? Perhaps you could have just thrown it in the washing machine and called it a day. Still, would that have made her as happy as actually doing this?

Being a single father is particularly tough if you don’t know how to cook or just aren’t very good at it. After all, who’s going to cook for your children besides you? Then again, if your abilities are as questionable as this single father, maybe you would be better off just eating out.

We’re honestly not sure what we’re looking at here. Is it even edible? If you do eat it, will it actually taste good? Did he just throw whatever was available together from out of the pantry? We’re actually curious how one even gets around to making something quite like this.

Having a child changes a lot of things about your life. How you act, how you dress, the things you buy, and of course, what your living space looks like. Once you have a baby to worry about, you can’t just leave your house the way it was when it was just for you.

This single dad is showing off the transformation of his living space from what it was before to what it is now that he has a kid. We suppose the transformation isn’t super amazing or anything, but it does show the type of change in mindset you need to have when the time comes to support a child.

Men have always been a little uncomfortable with the idea of going into a store alone and buying feminine products or things perceived as girly. We’re not sure why that is because most employees wouldn’t assume that a grown man buying a child’s toy is probably doing it for his kid.

Well, we suppose there are some people out there who might be into that kind of thing, but we wouldn’t consider that to be the most rational assumption for an employee to make in most cases. Oh well, we still get that it can be a little bit of an awkward situation for a single father to deal with.

When your kids get ready to go on their first school field trip, it can be a little harrowing for a single dad. How do you prepare them for the undertaking? Naturally, you’ll need to become a master of lunch and snacks, creating meals for your kids to eat during the trip.

It might sound easy to put such a thing together, but there’s actually a bit more finesse to making a good lunch — at least if you actually care about your kids having a well-balanced meal. This father doesn’t have to worry, though, because this is a skill that’s relatively easy to master over time.

We don’t think that single fathers inherently love their kids more than other fathers, but we do believe there’s a unique bond between a single father and their child. There’s probably something special about being there when your kid experiences something amazing for the first time.

Being a single dad is tough, but all of the work and effort pay off when you get to the moments like these. They may be few and far between sometimes, but as long as you work for these moments with unfaltering love for your child, they can come around more and more frequently.

Kids usually don’t have fantastic ideas, but as a single father, you sometimes have to cater to those ideas if you want to keep them happy. For instance, some kids ask for dessert ideas that sound really terrible to any sort of adult. This seems to be a good example of that.

We have no doubt that the kid who designed this monstrosity probably didn’t end up eating it in the long run, but that’s not the point. The point is just letting your kid have a little bit of fun, and that’s worth the price of a few wasted food items in most circumstances.

As a single father of a young girl, one of the things you will definitely have to learn is the art of hairstyling. At the very least, you’ll need to learn how to tie a girl’s hair in some capacity, and that isn’t always as easy as it sounds if you want it to look presentable.

Of course, if you ever feel a little lazy on that front, it’s not terribly difficult to find a way around the situation. You don’t necessarily need hair ties because zip ties exist, and they’re much easier to use! Of course, it might be a problem if your child wants to undo it for some reason.

You won’t make it very far as a single father if you don’t learn how to multitask in every single capacity. This is especially true when your child is still an infant or toddler, as you will rarely have both hands available to you. Heck, sometimes you might not even have one hand available!

So, when you need to eat while you’re still holding your kid in your arms, you have to find some unique ways to make that happen — such as using your baby’s back as a table of sorts. Don’t worry, we don’t think anyone would consider that to be child abuse or anything.

Being a single father is a struggle, especially when you have multiple kids. That’s an entirely different beast, but some guys have the fortitude to weather that. One way or another, it’s possible for them to at least get some sort of worthwhile compensation on Father’s Day.

On that one particular day every year, a single father can sit back and relax to some extent, and be taken care of by his family instead of the other way around. Well, he would still have to take care of them a bit, but it’s not every day that you get to sit in a kiddie pool and play games while your kids wait on you.

It’s not that single fathers don’t like playing with their kids, but sometimes that activity can be pretty tiring. Pushing a grown kid on a swing for a long time can really strain your arms! But, if you have a rope available, you can make the entire exercise a whole lot easier.

Sure, it might seem a little lazy, but if the kid is having fun and the dad is relaxing — and no one’s getting hurt — who cares? Efficiency is just clever laziness, as they say. And hey, it’s not like there’s anyone around to call him out on it anyway.

When it snows, babies can easily be exposed to deadly colds. And if you plan on going out, not only do you have to dress them appropriately, but you have to carry them around as well, and that often leaves your hands full. What can you do to negate all of these problems?

Simple — you just contain the baby within your winter jacket. As long as you situate everything properly, there’s no way the baby will be able to slip out of there. Both you and the little nugget will be able to stay very warm this way.

Everyone knows about dad jokes, and single fathers are certainly not exempt from making them. Some dads stick to verbal jokes, while others actually get physical with their puns. We imagine this girl asked if her dad could “put her hair in a bun.”

Naturally, any good father would take this to heart in a way his daughter would not like, and we can’t blame her. For one, we’re not sure if anyone would want to eat that bread now that it’s been in some girl’s hair. And what kind of girl would want bread in her hair anyway?

Being a single dad means working on your motor skills. If those don’t evolve to a sufficient level, you will swiftly find yourself unable to do the things you want when your baby is required to be in your hands. Want to play a game? Not unless you can manage your baby properly!

You have to master your hands — and probably even your mouth — if you want to take care of your kid and engage in a hobby at the same time. After all, there’s no one to really pass your kid off to as a single father, now is there?

Obviously, a single father is not going to be breastfeeding his child — not conventionally, at any rate. But, if you’re creative enough, there are ways to get around such limitations. The real question is, should you do that even if you’re capable of it?

Of course, considering that this guy is a single father, he’s probably not feeding that baby breast milk, but it’s obvious that he’s trying to simulate it at the very least. Is that actually beneficial to the baby, or is it an adult trying to do something they think is helpful without any supporting evidence?

We’re not going to pretend that there isn’t something weird about tying a leash to your kid, but at the same time, we can’t deny that it’s a pretty effective way to keep track of them. Even two parents have issues doing that sometimes.

So yeah, it might be a little weird, but it’s much better than losing your kid out in the big scary world, isn’t it? Besides, it’s very on-brand for a single dad to do strange and somewhat questionable things in the pursuit of safety for their kid.

Everyone knows that men tend to be more predisposed to doing weird, silly things than women are. Unfortunately, that means a single father doesn’t have anyone to tell him, “Hey, this is probably a bad idea.” That’s how you end up making a cake that looks like this one.

As long as the son is OK with this gross thing, we suppose it is fine. Still, we have to admit that he doesn’t look particularly enthused with this outcome. Next time, he may ask his father to just go out and buy a cake from a grocery store or an ice cream shop.

Some dads are actually quite savvy when it comes to girls’ fashion, but we’re willing to bet that a large majority of them are not. So, when it falls to a single father to dress up his daughter in something nice for a trip on the town, the results may sometimes be… questionable.

Looking at this poor girl’s outfit, we have to wonder what exactly was going through her father’s head. Did he honestly think this was good, or was he just too lazy to try harder? Even if this is the best he can do, he might want to find a way to step up his fashion game for the future.

Some single dads have both a child and a pet, and while the two often tend to get along in most families, that’s not always the case. Of course, it depends on what the father is forcing on his two “children.” In this scenario, the dog clearly isn’t enthused about what’s happening.

But, much like normal siblings and families, sometimes the best way to entertain oneself is to bring some degree of discomfort to others. Picking on your family for your amusement is a tale as old as time itself, and it’s definitely not limited to humans alone.

Finding ways to accomplish more with less is one of the key tenets of being a single father. Believe it or not, toys are things that can be used for more than just entertainment if they’re designed in an appropriate manner. This toy giraffe being used to hold a milk bottle is a prime example.

Honestly, everyone should look around their house and try to determine what kind of interesting things they could do with ordinary everyday objects. When you look beyond the intended purpose of some things, there are really a lot of possibilities there to take into consideration.

While this is slowly changing, as far as the home is concerned, baking has often been the mother’s domain. But, when you’re a single father, that kind of thing obviously falls to you and you alone. That can be a bit of a problem if you’re a novice in the craft.

But, as long as you try your hardest, you may very well be able to create something that’s both attractive and unique. This garden cake will probably be the first of many for the dad in question, but we have no doubt that his baking skills will improve with practice.

Kids love toys, and chances are, you will need to buy a lot of them when you first become a single father. In a span of time as short as six months, you could accrue a pretty hefty number of toys. Hopefully, it won’t be so many that you can’t fit them all into one room.

This single father shows off how many toys he has gotten for his child already, and while it may not look like that much at first glance, it pays to remember just how expensive toys can actually be sometimes. When you’re buying dozens of them, that’s actually a lot of money!

When you’re a single father, you constantly worry about how your kids feel in regards to not having a mother. It’s easy for a kid to get sad or depressed about such things, after all. So, when Christmas rolls around, a lot of single fathers really want to go all out to make their kids happy.

Of course, that can be a pretty expensive undertaking, but in the end, it’s well worth it. You can always make more money, and what do you even have it for if not to take care of your family? That said, you probably shouldn’t put it ahead of actual necessities if you have them.

Making a meal for your kids is rarely limited to the actual food component of the dish. Sometimes, your kids want a little extra creativity and flair, and you have little choice but to give it to them. It can be simplistic, sure, but you still have to provide it.

We’re sure there are many single fathers out there who have had to play around with their food in order to make their kids happy, but that’s a small price to pay, Besides, we firmly believe that children are more likely to eat food that they are amused by.

Depending on how rowdy and unorganized your kids are, getting them ready for school can be a more taxing affair than one would expect. And when you’re on a relatively tight timetable in the morning, it stands to reason that things get even more complicated. There’s an easy solution, though.

That’s right — it’s much easier to just prepare the right outfits for the kids beforehand. Why not take some of the hassle of the morning by getting everything squared away the night beforehand? That makes everything a lot easier for everyone, father and kids included.

Making jokes at the expense of your child is something that all dads do, including single fathers. The main difference is that single fathers don’t have a partner to try and mitigate their joking tendencies. There’s no limit to how silly they can get!

But, we have to admit, this single father is definitely onto something with this uncanny resemblance. A child’s head does look an awful lot like a kiwi when it doesn’t have a full head of hair yet. The little sticker is really all one needs to make the connection.

Single fathers tend to be a bit more responsible than those who have a wife to rear children alongside them, but that doesn’t mean they’re always particularly careful. In fact, without someone to call them out on dangerous things, single fathers might be even more reckless than others at times.

We don’t recommend driving your kids around on a mattress attached to a four-wheeler since there are many ways that can go wrong. We’re sure the kids had a good time with it all, but then again, children have a good time with lots of things that aren’t necessarily a good idea.

Ironically, the effort of putting your child to sleep is one that actually takes even more energy from you. Tons of parents can attest to how tiring it can be to put a child to sleep — so much so that it can be difficult to even get back to your own bed.

This particular image might be staged, but the idea behind it is quite clear — not to mention, accurate. We imagine there are many single dads out there who feel as though they could collapse right there on the floor as soon as they manage to get their kids to sleep.

When rest is hard to come by, a single father may be inclined to take a nap wherever he can manage it — even if that ends up being in the crib his own child sleeps in. Besides, some cribs can actually be quite comfortable, if a little undersized for a grown man.

Heck, the kid might be a little upset about having his personal space infringed upon, but at the same time, he might actually find it a little more comfortable if he can sleep on top of his dad instead of in the comforts of the crib itself. Who knows?

Being a single father means not always having the creature comforts known as rest and relaxation available to you. Finding places to sit, sleep, or just rest tends to be slightly more difficult when you’re a single father — especially if you have to juggle your work as well.

In such a situation, you may actually be inclined to steal your little boy’s stroller for a bit of rest for your weary legs during a phone call. It may look a little silly, but at the end of the day, we figure one wouldn’t care about looking silly when they’re tired.

This image is obviously a joke, but we can get the feeling behind it that tends to strike a parent from time to time. We may love our kids, but raising children is a struggle and an exhausting one at that. Sometimes, a parent may feel like they want someone to take their child off of their hands.

It’s always a passing feeling for loving parents, of course, but needing a break from one’s child is actually a fairly normal thing. Thank goodness that babysitters exist — because that tends to be a much better solution than the types of alternatives depicted in this image.

We’re not going to pretend that women never engage in inappropriate humor, but when it comes to children, it’s often the dad who rules that domain. Usually, a mother would frown on a joke such as this one, but this guy is a single father, so there’s no such person to stop him.

Still, no one can blame a single dad for taking the opportunity to make a harmless joke. When you have to take care of your kid by yourself every day, surely the least he can do in return is pose in a funny way for the internet every once in a while!