Ice-Breaker Questions for a Single-Parent Group

Single-parent groups provide an effective way for single parents to mingle, meet new people and offer each other support. Icebreakers provide a way for the group participants to introduce themselves and open up to other members of the group. Use ice-breaker questions to start of your single-parent group meeting by choosing appropriate questions that meet your members’ needs.

Challenges and Successes

To break the ice, ask group members to reveal their parenting highs and lows for the week. Single parents can share in each other’s successes and offer advice and support for the parenting challenges. Promote positivity by opening up the group meeting with an ice breaker question that focuses on goals. Ask each person to state a parenting or personal goal she has for the week or month. Follow up at the next meeting and ask about the success or challenges faced while trying to complete the goal.

Activities

Activities for Relapse Prevention Groups

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Create an ice-breaker activity to open up discussions 1. Pass around a cup filled with pennies. Each group member must draw a penny and share their favorite memory from the year the penny was produced. Another activity is to create a list of 15 questions and have enough copies printed out for each group member. The questions can include a variety of topics such as “Who has climbed a mountain?” or “Who has three or more children?” The participants must go around the room and find someone who can put their name next to the question on the list. This is an effective way for group members to learn more about each other.

Advice

Ask each participant to provide his best piece of parenting advice. Choose a theme for the meeting such as discipline, dealing with an ex or getting kids to do chores. Ask questions that address the theme: “How do you get your kids to eat more vegetables?” or “How do you get your kids to do their chores?” Asking questions about bad advice can be just as interesting. Choose questions such as “What is the worst piece of parenting advice you have ever received?” or “What is a disciplinary tactic you have used that backfired?”

Personality Questions

Mentoring Activities for Youth

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Parents want to have lives outside of their kids, so open up group meetings with ice-breaker questions that address something other than children. Ask what each parent would do if they had a full 24-hour period with no obligations. Ice-breaker questions about a person’s favorite things are another effective way to get group members to open up. Ask group members questions such as “If you could eat one food every day for the reset of your life, what would you eat?” or “If you could have one superpower, which power would you choose and why?”