The world is set up for dual parent families, says today's podcast guest author Sarah Thompson, who discovered all sorts of hurdles were placed in her way when she became a single mother.

However, there is a silver lining, and Sarah has written a compelling book about everything she thinks her children have benefited from since their parents' separation.

Listen to the podcast to find out why solo parenting can work out well even when you have teenagers.

Here are some of the ways Sarah says her kids have benefitted from being raised by a single mother:

• Resilience
• Emotional maturity
• Organisation
• Independence

Listen to the podcast to find out how Sarah's teenagers have benefitted from their parents' separation.

Sarah and I compare notes on the things that go wrong in our houses (think lost keys, crisps for dinner, and security issues) and agree that they're the same in all busy families - single parent or otherwise!

We talk about allowing our kids to fail sometimes, and how they learn life lessons from that.

Advice for single parents of teenagers

Sarah's gives her best advice on how to cope when you become a single parent, including getting in touch with the charity Gingerbread.

She says single motherhood is also a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with your female friends on a different level, as well as gaining new friendships.

Who is Sarah Thompson?

Sarah Thompson is a Sunday Times bestselling author and journalist. Sarah's features, on subjects ranging from parenting and divorce to sex, mental health and female friendship, have appeared in numerous publications including the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian and the Daily Mail. She's also written books about the perils of modern motherhood (You're So Mummy, published by Michael Joseph). Sarah is the (single) mother of two children and lives in Bridport, Dorset.

Happy Single Mother is available in most bookstores and on Amazon (Affiliate link).

More teenage parenting tips from Helen Wills:

Helen wills is a teen mental health podcaster and blogger at Actually Mummy a resource for midlife parents of teens.

Thank you for listening! Subscribe to the Teenage Kicks podcast to hear new episodes. If you have a suggestion for the podcast please email teenagekickspodcast@gmail.com.

There are already stories from fabulous guests about difficult things that happened to them as teenagers - including losing a parent, becoming a young carer, and being hospitalised with mental health problems - and how they overcame things to move on with their lives.

You can find more from Helen Wills on parenting teenagers on Instagram and Twitter @iamhelenwills.

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Please note that Helen Wills is not a medical expert, and nothing