Single Moms Struggle to Find Mr. Right

April 10, 2008 — -- She's smart, fun, and attractive. But she's saddled with kids.

The single mother may be the center of her children's orbit, but she is often a universe away from finding Mr. Right.

Such is the premise of a new television reality show — "Single Moms" — which will air this June on TLC.

"We found a show that we think reflects something that a lot of our audience is going through," Brant Pinvidic, TLC's senior vice president of programming told the New York Post this week. "There are a lot of single parents out there."

The show is based on a popular Swedish show — "Ensam mamma soker" — which follows three women in search of love.

The U.S. network will choose bachelors from applications submitted online. In the Swedish version, the single mothers are introduced to bachelors through personal ads.

An estimated 10.4 million women are single mothers living with children younger than 18, up 3.4 million since 1970, according to the U.S. Census.

Of all the women who are custodial parents, about 44 percent are divorced or separated; 33 percent have never been married; 22 percent are married and 1 percent are widowed.

According to singleparents.com, "the deck is stacked against a single parent from the get go." When balancing housework with childcare and visitation schedules, there is hardly time to think about dating.

A plethora of books and advice columns suggest how the single mother can juggle dating with children and prudent protocols to follow once the relationship gets serious. But this reality show touches a feminine nerve — how to find the boyfriend in the first place.

"You can probably meet a man in a bar, but that's not the kid of guy you are looking for," said Jennifer Wolf, a Michigan parent coach and advisor on About.com.

Sadly, the greatest challenge facing single mothers is their own sense of guilt, according to Wolf, particularly when they are under society's pressure to find a mate.