Before I remarried, I was a single parent to my eldest daughter.  Her father and I separated when she was two, and I didn’t date again until she was almost six, which is when I met my current husband.

It was just my daughter and I for all her early years, and they were lovely.  We had sleepovers, made window art, played dress-up and make-believe.  Shared chores, visited family, vacationed.

My elder daughter’s father travels a lot for work and while they keep in contact over the phone and by text, they see each other only every month or two.  He’s not a constant presence in her life.

Naturally, I worry about how this has affected/is affecting my daughter.  Does she feel unimportant?  Will she seek out male attention to make up for what is missing in her life?  Does she blame me for her father not seeing her very often?  Does she feel like an outsider in her own home, now that I’ve remarried and have a second daughter? Does she still believe she can be anything she sets her mind to?

I can’t help but wonder.

Do you think raising girls without their fathers in the home presents unique challenges?