Sometimes, she says, single mums can get stuck on fear, whether it's the fear that no one will want to date them or the fear that they'll always be alone . But, they need to quiet the voice in their head that says that the people they date are only after casual sex or will run as soon as they meet the kids. "There are people in this world who do want to love us, because we're lovable," Lamb says. And buying into the negative stereotypes about dating as a single parent can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. "If you assume that no one's going to want to meet your children, or be a father, or fall in love with you because you're a single mum, then they won't," Shearer says. You have to shift the expectations in your own mind and realise that people will still find you attractive