What you SHOULD NOT do:
Do not buy expensive things for her because you think she may like them. You may think it will be greatly appreciated because she likely wouldn’t or couldn’t afford to buy it for herself. This idea is wrong That’s usually not that case. She’ll be very gracious to your face and probably genuinely appreciate the thought. But she may be thinking “couldn’t she have just given me the money so I could get my brakes fixed” or “yeesch, I could pay my electric bill with the money she spent on this!” What many single mothers need is relief. They need a small slice of life taken off their shoulders. They need someone to take their children for three hours so they can have an uninterrupted bath or a nap.
What you SHOULD do:
What would bring a single mother great joy is to have you contact any of the utility companies and pay a month’s bill. She’d love car wash coupons because that may be something frivolous to her, but who doesn’t appreciate a nice clean car. “Let’s see, do I get eggs and milk, or do I drive my car through the car wash?” Or just show up someday with a hose and a bucket and wash it for her – inside and out. Make up babysitting coupons or better yet, just insist on picking up the kids Friday night to take them to a dinner and a movie. Give Mom some space.
What you have to do is finding a common theme in your mother. They don’t necessarily need help and wouldn’t ask for it, but if they received help, it would mean the WORLD to her. Instead of thinking of things that are special and pretty for her, consider what would make her life easier. This isn’t like the old adage you don’t buy your wife a frying pan for her birthday. With single parents, moms in particular, you need to keep in mind relief. How can you give this woman a small nugget of relief to make her life easier?
