Best friend single moms decide to move in together so they can raise their kids as a unit
As the old saying goes, ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’
That is true for most, but single parents cannot relate to this. The fact that they’re raising their children alone can add a lot more difficulties.
It’s never easy to raise a child alone, and that’s why support and a sense of community are essential.
According to Statista.com, there were 19,224,000 single-parent families in the country in 2022, and 82.10% were raised by single mothers.
This number reflects a 3.5% increase in single-parent households in two years.
This means there are many single parents who need support not just from the government but their fellow parents as well.
This is how ‘Mommune’ came into being – the need for a sense of community.
It is a play of words on ‘mom’ (mother or mommy) and ‘community.’ Mommunes are households with single mothers (or parents) living and raising their children together.
At first, this was a solution for single mothers struggling to make ends meet, especially with rent and mortgage prices skyrocketing.
In the long run, Mommunes provided a sense of community and belongingness.
It may not always be the case, but some of these mothers come from the same circle of friends.
Besties Samantha Best and Lauren Robinsons were single mothers who decided to live together.
Samantha’s from New Plymouth, New Zealand and she’s a social media influencer.
After her split with her partner, she and her son, Kaelin, moved to Auckland to live with Lauren.
On the other hand, it was perfect timing for the two since Lauren had just moved into Auckland for work.
She’s also a single mom raising her daughter, Haidyn.
The two single mothers thought it was the best decision they had ever made.
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“It’s so much easier living with Lauren. We’ve been able to split our finances, and we are able to help each other with childcare. If one of us is busy, the other can pick them both up from school, or if either of us needs to go out, the other can watch the two children,” Samantha told New York Post.
This setup was also beneficial for their children.
Samantha said that when she and Kaelin’s father split, she feared her son would grow up alone.
She was glad that she moved in with Lauren, whose daughter was about the same age as her son.
“The kids keep themselves company together, but they are now like siblings – so they do bicker, and that can be challenging, but that’s really it, and it’s expected,” Samantha added.
The two have been co-parenting their kids since, and they love every minute of it.
So, when they said, ‘It takes a village to raise a child,’ we think a Mommune is a perfect solution (and village) to raise children in the same situation.
If anything, it benefits the children, so they won’t grow lonely or resentful.
Check out the video below of the sweet family!
@lauren_.robinson Living with my bestie is My Saftey, My home 💖 #singlemumclub #bestfriend #raisingkids ♬ son original – 𝘼𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙨
Source: New York Post, Samantha Best Instagram Page, Lauren Robinson TikTok Page