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Dads Flying Solo
How to Come through When Mom Goes Away
By I.J. Schecter
Build Yourself Up
As in any other pursuit, success in childrearing often comes down to telling yourself over and over that you can do it. This might be relatively easy to do on the basketball court or baseball diamond, but considerably harder when a baby is shrieking inconsolably in your face or a toddler is doing hyper laps around the dining room. Still, just like the time you had to defend the guy 6 inches taller than you during the championship game in high school, a little self pep-talk can go a long way toward helping you perform on game day. 
"While recognizing common differences between men and women, there's no reason why men can't become as competent at being a parent," says Kaz Cooke in the book Kid-Wrangling (Ten Speed Press, 2005). In other words, the more you believe you can pull off the win, the more likely you are to do so.
Learn from Others
An individual athlete may possess stratospheric natural talent yet still never reach the highest levels of achievement if he doesn't learn from those around him. Similarly, you probably have all the tools to perform as a solo parent, but don't rejct the urge to solicit some advice from friends or colleagues who have done it before you.