History Main / StrugglingSingleMother

* In ''LightNovel/EvenThoughImAFormerNobleAndSingleMother'', it's even spelled out in the title that poor Shirley has to raise her two young daughters while also being a B-Rank adventurer to make ends meet. The "Struggling" part of the trope, however, is largely self-imposed and thus downplayed, as Shirley is B-rank purely by choice despite the Guild's attempts to convince her to accept a promotion to A-rank (long story short, she values the freedom she has and the time she spends with her daughters too much), and while not living in obvious wealth, her daughters do not appear to want for anything (it probably helps that the trio were taken in by Martha and her husband, a very nice couple who insist on helping Shirley out); Shirley simply has absurdly huge standards regarding her parenting to an almost comical degree, to the point that she seeks out a '''dragon-slaying''' quest just so she can get the one ingredient that the local pharmacy is missing for a special medicine that will cure her daughters' illness... which Martha pointed out would most probably run its course in '''just a few days''' and even compares it to the '''common cold'''.

* In ''LightNovel/TrappedInADatingSimTheWorldOfOtomeGamesIsToughForMobs'', Marie was one in her {{backstory}} before dying from DomesticAbuse, and being [[MediaTransmigration transmigrated]] into the world of a dating sim. A deadbeat father and drunkenness had eventually resulted in her parents taking custody; she had worked in a hostess club to get by. In the story proper, she ends up essentially being this again, only for five grown men who, newly cut off from their parents' funds after being RichInDollarsPoorInSense, can't really take care of their finances.

* ''Manhua/MyBelovedMother'': The main character Sinbell is RaisedByRobots, with his mother being a Struggling Single ''Robot'' Mother. A flashback prequel in the last chapter reveals Sinbell's biological mother, Aya, to be one as well, who decides to ditch her career after becoming pregnant and take care of Sinbell in a faraway town where nobody knows who they are - [[spoiler:only for a gas explosion to nearly kill both of them, Aya giving up her life to save her child, and her DyingWish being having herself reprogrammed into a robot to continue raising Sinbell]].

* In ''Manga/OneOperationJoker'', Batman is somehow de-aged back into a baby, forcing ''[[Characters/BatmanTheJoker The Joker]]'' of all people to raise him back into Batman, so they can continue their eternal conflict. HilarityEnsues.

* In ''Manga/MuhyoAndRoji'', the ghost that Muhyo and Goryo compete to exorcise was a single mother who struggled to make ends meet selling flowers. Unable to afford a doll as a birthday present for her daughter, she ended up making one herself. Her daughter loved the present but ended up [[LookBothWays being hit by a car]] when she ran off to show her friend. The mother went insane after her daughter's death and ended up making countless dolls for her, before ending up as a ghost.
* ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'': Rena, the quintuplets' mother, had to take care of her five daughters by herself after her first husband walked out on her. This naturally took a toll on her health and led to her untimely death, shortly after she married Maruo and he became their new guardian. From the little we see of her in the flashbacks, she loved her daughters dearly, and they loved her as well.

* ''Literature/ForbiddenSea'': Two years ago, Adrianne's father was killed in a horseback riding accident, and her mother spent the next few months as a SleepyDepressive, leaving twelve-year-old Adrianne in charge of the family finances. She didn't understand the need to cut back expenses now that her father wasn't bringing in money, so within a few months she had spent all their money, and the family could no longer afford to stay in their home. Now they live in a tiny, leaky cottage, wear ragged clothes, and often go hungry.
* ''Literature/TheFragilityOfBodies'': Peque and Dientes both have {{Disappeared Dad}}s, so they're both raised by their mothers, who are [[ParentalNeglect too busy working to pay much attention to them]], leading to them getting involved in the plot.

* ''VideoGame/MyChildLebensborn'': The PlayerCharacter is a struggling single parent to their adoptive child. Many of the choices involve chosing between extra hours at their factory job to get more money or being present for the child. An extra shift usually means coming back home just in time to put the child to bed without any dinner.

* ''Manga/TheQuintessentialQuintuplets'': Rena, the quintuplets' mother, had to take care of her five daughters by herself after her first husband walked out on her. This naturally took a toll on her health and led to her untimely death, shortly after she married Maruo and he became their new guardian.

* Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse:
** In ''[[Film/Shazam2019 SHAZAM!]]'', Billy Batson's biological mother apparently struggled to raise him, and eventually deliberately abandoned him so the foster care system could take care of him instead.
** In ''Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague'', Victor Stone/Cyborg helps a struggling mother who works as a waitress and has trouble making ends meet, by hacking into her bank account and dropping $100,000 in it.

* In the ''Manga/MobPsycho100'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13226631/1/Shigeko-Kageyama-AKA-Mob Shigeko Kageyama AKA Mob]]'' Reigen's mother was one of those. As a foreigner living in Japan, his mother does not have good job prospects and it was even worse when she divorced Reigen's father in the mid-2000s. The only work that she could, and still can, find is teaching English despite having a university degree in Japanese language and culture. Reigen faced some hard times when he was young and it strained his relationship with his mother.

* ''Series/TheBrittasEmpire'': Carole Parkinson starts the series with her husband having run off to Spain, leaving behind an unpaid mortgage on their apartment, little to no life savings, and a newborn son in the process. Her situation soon deteriorates even further, and she ends up having to raise three children (having become pregnant again thanks to an OneNightStandPregnancy) whilst living [[NonResidentalResidence in the Leisure Centre itself]].

* ''Series/RaisingDion'': Dion's mom Nicole is widowed, and struggles to support both herself and her son. Then her situation gets UpToEleven when Dion is revealed to have superpowers.

* In ''Manga/OneOperationJoker'', Batman is somehow de-aged back into a baby, forcing ''https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/BatmanTheJoker'' of all people to raise him back into Batman, so they can continue their eternal conflict. HilarityEnsues.

* ''Webcomic/TheLegendOfGenji'': Zahra is an overworked single mother who lives in an urban slum and has to deal with raising two children while also working double shifts everyday just to make ends meet. Her financial situation was so bad that her teenage son had to drop out of school and accept work as a part-time mechanic in order to help pay her bills. By the start of the story, she and her family are on the verge of being evicted from their apartment while a newly-placed government curfew prevents Zahra from working at her night job.