A single dad’s guide to talking to daughters about periods and a low down of the products out there. Including sustainable options.

I have been at my beautiful friend’s home on so many occasions and felt so much admiration and awe at the amazing relationship she has with her ex. He returns with kids, comes in for a cuppa, they ask each other how their weekends have been and chat through what the boys have been doing.

As a single parent you may wonder when you are ready to start dating again, and even where do I start? You may have been through a traumatic break up, been on your own for a while or even gone through a bereavement.

Laura Warren, Founder of FitMuma gives her expert advice on how to get good pelvic floor health, including what to eat and drink, a low down of prolapse and even how to toilet properly for good pelvic health.

FAN was set up to provide a friendly and relaxed way for local people and those from around the world to meet, talk and listen to each other. Find out about what they do and how to get involved from FAN Manager Sarah Duncan-Jones.

Clare Skidmore answers our Community Spotlight questions around Race Equality First, and the amazing work they do tackling discrimination and promoting and campaigning for race equality. Read on to find out about the vast amount of work and support they offer and how we can support and promote their services.

An inevitable part of life for most single parents, is dealing with heartbreak. The process is hard when a relationship ends and you have to rebuild your life.

We asked SPW members for there top tips to get through heartbreak.

2020 threw financial challenges at the world and as usual, Single Parents felt the pinch harder than most. Many had to lean that little bit harder on credit cards when furlough hit, working hours reduced or worse, jobs disappeared altogether. For Single Parents who have managed to stay on the housing ladder personal debts like loans and credit cards can be consolidated into a mortgage to take advantage of record low mortgage rates.

I'm Russ, father of 13-year-old Ella and owner of 'balance' a zero waste/refill shop in Swansea. A place where you can bring your own containers and bottles to fill up on dry goods, cleaning products and personal hygiene liquids. We've already saved over 10,000 pieces of plastic being sent to recycling, landfill or left to breakdown in nature and the movement is only getting bigger.

We wanted to celebrate and tell you more information about PaCE. Lots of our single parent members have used their services and been able to remove any childcare barriers in order to get back into work.

The way you fuel yourself plays such a huge role in how you feel and how you act. My aim is to get people to see eating not as ‘eating’ but as a way to fuel yourself to be how you want to feel and be.

Sleep is fundamental to a happy and healthy mind and body. A lot of people neglect it because they are simply too busy to fit in enough hours of sleep.  On the other hand they may see it as important, but simply struggle to get enough ‘quality sleep.’ I am hoping that this blog will remind you of the importance of sleep so that you can try and prioritise it a little more.

Keeping ourselves hydrated. Is it really that important? Is that the reason I am tired, grumpy, achey and unable to concentrate?

Confusion, tiredness, dark urine, dizziness, headaches, loss of appetite, muscle cramps, thirst or dry mouth.

Talia Loderick is a Money Coach, based in Cardiff. Talia offers one-to-one coaching helping women understand their emotions and beliefs around money so they can improve their behaviour with money, feel better and be better with money.

Talia also delivers financial education workshops to 11-19-year-olds in schools, colleges and community groups, helping young people build lifelong money-management skills.

There are various options when it comes to renting a home in Wales. You can rent from a social landlord, such as a housing association or a local authority; this is classed as social housing. Or you can rent from a private landlord, usually through a letting agent. 

Help to Buy- Wales

As mentioned in the introduction, Help to Buy in Wales is different to England. In England, you can get a house up to £600k on Help to Buy and in Wales, it has just been changed from £300k to £250k. Help to Buy is an equity loan and you can borrow up to 20% of the market value of a new home.

The challenge of affording suitable housing as a single parent is endless. All too often we are trapped in a cycle of trying to earn enough to get a mortgage and trying not to earn too much that you will lose the Universal Credit support towards your rent; never mind the waiting lists that we face to move into social housing. Ok, now I have finished ranting, ill move to the positives, there are in fact many initiatives in Wales that we can access as single parents, it is simply knowing about them.

Anon SPW member gives her honest and heart wrenching account of being with loving, and letting go an Alcoholic partner.

I have lived the life of ‘The Wife of an Alcoholic’ for many years. It’s not a moniker I would have chosen for myself, but it is who I have become. Now, it is an identity I want to shed. I have a mountain to climb to become ‘me’ again. I am rebuilding myself – my mind and body- from the ground up. 

Having goals particularly in business is important, they allow us to get clear on what we want to achieve and can provide us with a structure to develop a plan of action that we need to take in order to achieve them. They can also be our guide in times of change or when we go into overwhelm.