The film tells the story about four police officers, Nathan Hayes, Adam Mitchell, Shane Fuller and David Thomson. They are dedicated to protect and serve the community. However, they have hidden challenge – fatherhood. The acting may not be among the best, but the message is powerful enough for any single parent. Here are things that we can learn from the film:
- Single parents must step up and lead the household. Single parents become the sole leader of the family and they often need to take roles typically assumed by two adults in a normal family. They are responsible in instilling positive values among other family members. They are rule makers and disciplinarian to ensure that children follow a structure to allow them to grow well in the future.
- Father needs to play a huge role in the lives of their children. Fathers must become an excellent role model. They are the ones who family members can trust, believe and respect. Fathers must be willing to spend enough time with their children to educate, accompany and entertain. They simply need to be the actual parent.
- Be prepared for conflict. Any relationship between parents and children will result in conflict. Conflict is inevitable, but it can be managed. Everything could happen due to a divorce, but it’s not the fault of children. By becoming a single parent, a huge sacrifice needs to be made. Accept conflict as a certainty, but keep it manageable.
- Don’t be overwhelmed. It’s easy for single parents to be overwhelmed with all the responsibilities. In some cases, the situation is serious enough to cause parents to operate in survival mode and it’s a constant struggle. Parents should have a real intention to get things organized, regardless of how overwhelming things are.
- Get enough support. Often, single parents need to do everything on their own, which causes them to struggle a lot. It is important for single parents to surround themselves with supportive individuals. Relatives, friends or other single parents could provide moral support or direct assistance to deal with daily issues.
- Take an interest on their children. Things are obviously difficult for children as well, because the family is missing one parent. It is a good thing if single parents are able to spend quality time with their children to do things that the whole family enjoy. Find a hobby that everybody would enjoy. It’s true that single parents are often busy, but finding time to spend with the family should also be considered as essential. Parents should work hard to make the time and show that they are genuinely interested to be with their children.
- Have a real vision for the family: Single parents should know what their vision for the whole family is and they should know what children should do in the future. Sadly, many parents don’t have real vision and things can be more troublesome for them. By having a vision and plan, single parents can help their children to grow and it’s much easier to guide the whole family. Vision could also help single parents to use their time more wisely.