Single Parent Research Presentation - Mo Goltz

Single Parent Research

Project Background

Being a single parent is challenging.

Project Background

Being a

Project Background

“It feels like having seven full-time jobs!”

Project Background

bad cop chauffeur chef chief financial officer cleaner coach/cheerleader drill sergeant

entertainer good cop handyman homework helper housekeeper laundry service life coach

lifegaurd mediator nurse party planner personal assistant personal shopper problem solver

psychiatrist referee secretary spiritual advisor taxi driver teacher travel agent

jobs

feel yourself bargaining with God. Do not let anything happen to me until they

entertainer good handyman homework housekeeper laundry life

It is a lot like the first paragraph of Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities. It is all. the. things.Being a single mom is a lot like being any kind of mom in the sense that you have overwhelming love for these incredibly innocent, vulnerable, and beautiful creatures that are entirely dependent on you.Being a single mom comes with a little bit of extra mom guilt because you feel bad that your children are living in a split home even though you know in your mind it is better than what their reality was before the divorce. But you know the ideal would be a together happy peacefumily, and it breaks your heart because you cannot provide them the ideal.It is extremely physically exhausting. You wake up at 5:00 am or so and you do not sit down until 9:30 pm. You suddenly have to do everything, like literally everything, on your own. Before you got divorced, you probably thought you did everything. And goodness knows you probably did 90% of the things because if there is one place that still has a glass ceiling, it is most definitely the institution of marriage, amirite?But now you are literally doing everything. You are the one taking out the trash. You are the one writing the checks. You are the one cleaning out the carseats. You are the one getting the mail. You are the one pulling the barrels to the road. And sometimes you are so exhausted you can not even make yourself get up to turn out the light.Suddenly money matters more because you are now financially dependent only on yourself and whatever child support you are receiving, which likely barely even pays for daycare. But, you also suddenly have less time to work to make that money. Being a single mom impacts your career even more than before when you were a married mom. You are the one taking off for the sick days every single time. You are the one doing doctor’s appointments. You have to leave when daycare closes, no exceptions. You have zero backup and little flexibility to stay late or work on the weekends because you do not have a partner to keep your kids.You have to pay someone cash to even be able to exercise for an hour. It starts to make you feel a little bonkers, like the walls are closing in.But even with the exhaustion, on the rare nights when your children are away with their father, you miss them deeply. You ache for them. Your house is suddenly quiet and lonely and dull. You cannot sleep when they are gone. You remember the last ten days when you have been desperate for one single second without someone needing you and crying for you and crawling on you, and you kick yourself for ever feeling that way because your children are gone and you want them back.You grow as a human being more rapidly than you could ever imagine. Your children are the iron, and they are sharpening you. You develop a pride in yourself like you have never had because you are doing things you could never imagine. You wake up at 5:00 am to exercise and pay a babysitter so you can. You cook the kids’ breakfast. You dress them. You pack their lunch. You take them to daycare. You go do your job. You pick them up. You make them amazing memories. Then you give them their baths. You put them in their pajamas. You read to them and say their prayers. You rock them to sleep. And then you fold the laundry. And you empty the dishwasher. And you sweep the floors. And then it is 9:30. And you know, you absolutely know, that you have lived today.You feel sad that no on else is witnessing the perfection unraveling before your eyes when your children do something exceptionally sweet, which is all the time. You dream of maybe one day having a partner you can sit down and show every picture you have taken of your children to and tell him every story of what has been missed.You have the freedom to make the environment that you want for your children in your own home. You get to make things happy and peaceful and fun, and that is a luxury for which you are extremely grateful.You are, by far and away, the primary person developing your children as people. You lay awake worrying if you are shaping them in the right way. You wonder how the divorce is going to affect them for the rest of their lives. One of their hairstyles is growing funny and you wonder did you not treat their cradle cap as well as you should have. The other cries every time you sit her down or leave a room and you wonder did she not feel connected enough to you after she was bYou feel an intense pressure to stay alive. You

graduate. I have to be here. I am essential to this process. They

Project Background alone

Project Background

Project Background

“It feels like having seven full-time alone!”

They don’t need to be

Project Background

Goal

Discover the unique needs, challenges, and problems single parents have in order to uncover opportunities to help them.

Key Questions

1. What are the most challenging aspects of being a single parent?

2. How do single parents find assistance and who do they go to when help is needed?

3. What hurdles do single parents face when growing and maintaining their support network?

4. What hurdles do single parents face when making and maintaining friendships?

Methodology

Secondary research academic papers, articles, blog posts, and youtube videos

Primary Research Methods survey, interviews

Screening Criteria

Single parent (not married) Living with children (full-time or co-parenting)

Sample Size

82 single parents - Survey 10 single parents - Interviews

Analysis and Synthesis

affinity clustering, persona, and empathy map

Empathize Profile of a single parent

Empathize Profile of a single parent

What makes a single parent unique?

Feeling Isolated, but not lonely - when she takes care of he son, it’s ultimately all on her shoulders

Often alone in decision making, responsibilities for outcomes is all on my shoulders

I know only a few other single parents - who truly get what I’m going through, and it’s hard to find other single parents to commiserate with

There is no real way to take a break - I always need to be on (no sick days from parenting)

Empathize What keeps single parents up at night

common issues of concern

Co-Parenting Dating

Loneliness and isolation

Stress and anxiety Time and time management

Finances Raising children Friends and companionship Conflict between parents Visitation, custody

Extended family issues Guilt and judgment

of

and from others Self-esteem Legal issues

Empathize What keeps single parents up at night

Single parents have unique needs because they do so much on their own.

Life can be more challenging and intense for single parents because they take on responsibilities that typically two people would take on.

Issues people deal with in life Single Parents Married Parents Single People

Co-Parenting

Dating

Loneliness and isolation

Stress and anxiety

Time and time management

Finances

Raising children

Friends and companionship

Conflict between the parents

Visitation, custody

extended family issues

Guilt and judgment of others

Self-esteem

Legal issues

Intense N/A N/A

Intense N/A Low

Intense N/A Low

Intense Moderate Low

Intense Moderate Low

Intense Moderate Low

Intense Moderate N/A

Intense Moderate N/A

Intense Moderate N/A

Intense N/A N/A

Intense N/A N/A

Intense N/A N/A

Intense N/A N/A

Intense N/A N/A

Empathize Underserved market

Existing solutions for single parents are lacking. There are only two types of smartphone apps targeting single parents: dating and coparenting. There is more to single parents than that.

iPhone 6 single parent dating apps 10 co-parenting apps Android 7 single parent dating apps 15 co-parenting apps

Dating Apps

Co-parenting Apps

Empathize Underserved market

The single parent market is underserved.

Apps only focus on 2 of the main 14 issues single parents deal with.There is an opportunity to create a bespoke product and/ or service that caters to single parents’ unique needs with tailored features and functionality.

Issues people deal with in life

Co-Parenting

Single Parents Single Parent Apps

Intense Yes

Dating Intense Yes

Loneliness and isolation

Intense No

Stress and anxiety Intense No

Time and time management

Finances

Raising children

Friends and companionship

Conflict between the parents

Intense No

Intense No

Intense No

Intense No

Intense No

Visitation, custody Intense No

extended family issues

Guilt and judgment of others

Self-esteem

Legal issues

Intense No

Ignored Opportunity

Intense No

Intense No

Intense No

Empathize Underserved market

Since apps aren’t enough for single parents, they join social media groups and forums. Since single parents are are already on social media, they look for existing groups where they can find support and advice by reaching out to other single parents.

Not Popular

Locked into categories

Feed with extraneous information

Fragmented groups

Distraction from other content

Empathize Underserved market

Empathize Adult relationships

typically

Most adults go to a spouse first for advice and support. Single parents don’t have that luxury. They turn to friends first, and their parents second. This means that friends a fundamental part of single parent’s support networks.

The average number of friends an adult in America has is 3-5 close friends. These are the people that single parents go to for support first.

The second most common reason adults don't make friends is because of a lack of time - they are too busy with other priorities and responsibilities. (This is what it’s like)

A majority of single parents selfidentified as very busy.

Who do adults go to first for advice and support when help is needed?

How many friends does an adult

have?

Why is it difficult for adults to make friends and maintain friendships?

Empathize Adult relationships

Single parents only have 3-5 friends as their primary support and there is very little time to cultivate those relationships.

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“Time to connect [with other adults] is a big challenge. As a single parent, I have to weigh my need for socialization against the impact on my son. Sometimes that can mean not participating in a social event that I'm interested in so as to not be away excessively”

63% experienced loneliness and/or isolation since becoming a single parent at least some of the time

61% are open to making new friends, but can’t make it a priority

48% have fewer friends after becoming a single parent

42% are not satisfied or only somewhat satisfied with their support network

Empathize Adult relationships

Single parents seek out other single parents for advice, support, and friendship.

�

“I find comfort in being able to support and be supported by other single parents who understand this perspective through lived experience. There is a sense of comradeship and connection that is unique.”

48% felt it was important or very important to have friends/people in their support network who are also single parents

Empathize Adult relationships

Empathize Adult relationships

Less Friendship Less Support Less Time

Key Insights Affinity Clustering

Lack of time

Seeking out other single parents

Being single is isolating (going solo)

Even when not co-parenting, single parents are catching up on work, errands, chores, and other things they were not doing while they were with their children. Most single parents feel like they are “always on” staying vigilant at all times to juggle responsibilities. To handle it all, they overschedule their days and nights to ensue nothing falls between the cracks - especially if they are co-parenting.

When I have my kids, there is so much I need to do/take care of that I can barely go to the bathroom!

“Being a single parent is like having seven full-time jobs!”

Single parents have little to no time for themselves, let alone other people.

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Other single parents provide better advice and support than other people do.

There will always be friends and family to rely on, but they can only empathize and sympathize so much. At some point, single parents just need and want advice that comes from those with similar life experiences, priorities, struggles, and goals - who just truly and deeply understand, firsthand, what it means to live the day-to-day life experiences of a single parent.

�

“It is quite important to have single parents in my support network because they understand the day-to-day struggles more because they face the same challenges.”

Parenting alone is isolating (going solo)

Over time, single parents become accustomed to doing almost everything on their own. they know that they are they are solely and ultimately responsible for their decisions and actions Often they have support from friends and family, so they aren’t lonely, but, they are alonethey don’t have a true partner to share responsibilities with. They get so used to going solo that they don’t often ask for help when they need it.

�

“With the responsibility of raising children and work plus everything else in life - There's no one to share those burdens with.”

It's advantageous to connect with parents who have children

It’s helpful to connect with other parents who have children around the same age because they are going through the same things and they have more in common. This is especially true for parents who live nearby because they can coordinate schedules and shared activities with one another more easily.

�  “It’s helpful to connect with parents who have children who are around the same age and even the same gender; they are going through the same things in parallel.”

of similar ages.

Challenge Questions

1. How might we help single parents find and/or make time to connect with other single parents?

2. How might we make it easier for single parents to connect their children of the same or similar age while making connections with other adults too?

3. How might we make it easier for single parents to ask for and get the help, support, or advice they need?

Next Steps

1. Ideation

2. Concept testing