Not all families look alike. Some have have one mom and one dad, others have two moms or two dads. And some just have one mom or dad. Regardless, all families are held together by one thing – love.

In this post, we will talk about what kinds of chapters work best for single parents. While couples on Parentfinder usually have a standard seven chapters to tell their story, single mothers have much more freedom to construct a unique narrative.

To begin, it’s essential to set the tone in your Opening Chapter. This chapter should focus on introducing yourself to the birth mother and explaining why you are pursuing adoption. This is a good time to clear the air, and explain what makes your lifestyle advantageous for a child to be raised in, as opposed to the birth mom choosing to parent.

Example:

I very much look forward to being a mommy and have always wanted to adopt. Honestly, by now I thought I would have found that special someone to spend the rest of my life with, but sometimes our best-laid plans don’t come to pass. I still would like to meet a great guy to share my life journey with; however in the meantime, I am VERY MUCH ready to be single mom. I have a fantastic and flexible career and so much love in my heart to share with a child.

The next chapter that we’d recommend doing is a chapter about your Childhood and Education. While couples must try to fit this into their About Me section, you are able to tell more of a story here – so take advantage of that! Tell us about growing up, your passions as a child and what lead you to pursue the career you have today.

Example:

While I’d like to say that I had a super unique and exciting childhood, I don’t want to lie! My childhood was pretty standard. I grew up in the suburbs of Washington, DC and was raised by two parents who worked really hard to provide me with the best life possible.

Throughout my childhood, I tried many different things – sports, arts, instruments, you name it. But the one thing I always loved was reading. After school, while most kids played in the streets, I’d sit in our backyard and devour book after book. My favorite was The Giver!

By the time high school rolled around, I was writing for the school newspaper and helping in theater productions. There was something about telling stories that I just loved. So after I graduated, choosing my major in college was easy – English.

After the Childhood and Education chapter, comes the My Life chapter. In this chapter, we want to learn more about you as an adult. Tell us about your career, your passions and what you would like to share with a child.

Example:

Like most English majors facing graduation from college, I wondered what to do with my degree. Thankfully, I started thinking about this during my junior year, which gave me enough time to get a dual-degree in English and Education.

After graduation, I moved back to DC and entered a program called Teach for America. I taught English to 4th and 5th graders at an inner-city school for six years and loved every minute of it. There’s something incredible about watching a young child light up when they finally find a book that relates to them!

Though I knew I wanted to continue teaching, I also knew that I wanted to do more for these kids. So, I went back to school and received a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration. From there, I became a Assistant Principal at DC public middle school and finally last year, I became the head Principal.

There is no great honor than spending my days enriching the lives of our nation’s future leaders. I absolutely adore the kids that walk through my doors each morning and wouldn’t trade my job for any other in the world – except for being a mom!

These first three chapters – Introduction, My Childhood and Education and My Life – should be the anchor of your profile. They tell about who you are, where you are from and why you want to become a parent.

Everything after this should act as color to the story you’ve already laid out. You can follow the standard chapter options to discuss things like home and community, traditions and family/friends.