Anonymous wrote:I second single parent meetups... I met a lot of great people that way and built a good network of friends.

As a single parent I never really found too many single parent meet up groups.

Second a lot of the other advice. I'm a full-time single mom and I know it's tough. I do a lot of inviting other people over or to join us on outings.

I second single parent meetups... I met a lot of great people that way and built a good network of friends.

Anonymous wrote:go to meetup.com and find some groups you would enjoy.

This is good advice. There are plenty of groups for single parents.

This is going to sound cliché - but maybe just try to enjoy your child for the next few years. By the time she is 10 or 12 - you will have a lot more independence. And then you may long for the days she was six.

Oh and do try to find a sitter to get out occasionally in the meantime. Hang in there!

OP - Take an honest inventory of yourself now and think back to what you did look like several years ago and what you did enjoy doing when you had a completely open lifestyle. Also consider carefully the richness that your daughter has brought to your life and remember what was lacking in your former "single life." Now it sound like you could use the advice to find a sitter once or twice on a regular basis during the week or on the weekend for your daughter. During the week, you might at age six look for a younger teen who would not be that expensive, while on a weekend perhaps an older teen who might be able to go and do a bit more with your daughter in terms of a fun activity she might enjoy; while you gave yourself time to go out.

Joining an area gym or an area activity group involved in perhaps hiking, biking, running etc. might be a good initial activity in which you could work to get back in shape a bit, participate in an activity you enjoy or once did as well as meeting people guys and gals with a similar interest. Also giving yourself an option of a week night out might be more relaxing and less stressful that a weekend when "the girls are on the prowl." Before you look for a sitter do some research to see if there might be a time when your single friends do usually meet up for a girls night out, or to go to a specific kind of activity or if there are any movie, discussion, volunteer, adult ed classes etc. that you might like to try. Connecting with other single Moms might also help you to find a way to exchange child care at no cost.

Hire an afterschool babysitter who can also spend nights with your DD on occasion - and make yourself available to your single friends!

go to meetup.com and find some groups you would enjoy.