May 30th: International Single Parent Day

Celebrating the Strength of Single-Parent Families
Every year on May 30th, we shine a much-needed light on a reality too often left in the shadows: that of single parents. In most cases, they are mothers, but this day honors all those raising one or more children without a co-parent in daily life.
Initiated by Amina Lutumba Ndoy, International Single Parent Day is much more than a symbol. It is a strong call to recognize, support, and value these families in all their diversity, richness, and complexity.

Being a Single Parent: A Burden That Cannot Be Shared

Today, one in four families is a single-parent household. Behind these numbers lies a truth: it is overwhelmingly women who bear the educational, emotional, logistical, and financial responsibilities of the home on their own.
Being a single parent means juggling multiple roles: educator, tutor, cook, nurse, breadwinner… and most often without sufficient support or recognition.

But the challenges are not the same for everyone. When one is a racialized mother, living with a disability, a migrant, LGBTQIA+, or facing precarity, the obstacles multiply. This is where a feminist and intersectional approach becomes essential: support cannot be designed without taking these intersecting realities into account.

Resources for Support, Empowerment, and Connection

Fortunately, several associations take concrete action for single parents, offering support, tools, and spaces for exchange:

• The Brussels Childbirth Trust offers informal support groups among people that are in similar situations. The groups meet on a regular basis and provide friendship, exchange of information and support.
• Brussels Family has a useful site that helps you calculate which benefits apply to your situation. The site is also available in English.
• Amazone organizes an annual solidarity giveaway dedicated to single-parent families in May. Clothes, books, childcare items, toys—but also conversations, advice, and shared experiences. A beautiful way to say: you are not alone. And to remind us all that solidarity is a collective responsibility.

Mobilizing for Inclusive Public Policies

This day is also a call for political action:

• Fair access to childcare, schools, healthcare, and housing;
• Financial support adapted to the realities of single-parent families;
• Accessible listening and support services for all;
• An active fight against all systemic discrimination.

Above all, it means amplifying the voices of single parents in public debates, media, and institutions. Their lived experiences are forms of knowledge. Their voices must count.

An International Perspective

International Single Parent Day is part of a global movement. From Kinshasa to Nouméa, from Gaza to Kyiv, single parents share common challenges: isolation, precarity, mental load.
In 2025, the goal is clear: to build an inclusive and intercultural definition of single parenthood—one that reflects the diversity of life paths. This recognition is essential for defending the fundamental rights of single-parent families everywhere in the world.
Let us bring this voice to the UN, the African Union, the European Union, and all institutions capable of turning this struggle into a global cause.

Redefining Parenthood, Redefining Society

Celebrating single parents also means questioning our family models: there is not just one way to make a family. A family can be single-parent, blended, same-sex, or chosen.
On May 30th, let’s think of all those who raise their children alone—with courage, creativity, and resilience.