Wow! I have got to give you great credit because I know being a single parent, raising kids is not easy. I'm not a parent and I don't have kids, but my sister does and honestly I don't know how she does it. I don't know how the situation doesn't drive her insane. I think it is her love for her children which outweighs any frustration associated with raising them right. I've often had to baby sit them and while they are certainly not angels, I can see my sister is doing the best she can to raise them right, given the circumstances. This sounds similar to your situation. You want to arm your son with any tools you can to prepare him for any battles he may come across. It is the job of the parent to make sure their kids are always protected, however the hard truth is you can't protect them forever. Sooner or later they will have to look after themselves. In this case of a stutterer, your son will eventually have to defend himself and educate others on the issue whenever those opportunities may rise. With your guidance though, he'll never feel he is alone. That brings me back to how I feel about myself which you asked if I can have compassion for myself. As I said in an earlier post, I can give the advice and I am a great listener (even if I don't understand the topic, I still listen), and anybody who has spent time with me will see that I am this kind, caring, responsible, and compassionate guy. But unfortunately I cannot be kind to myself. No, I think I put myself on way high of a pedestal, expecting the most perfect outcomes. It has always been like this and the one thing I am trying to shed away. I have always been one to always want something to be a certain way. Just thinking back in school: Sure I got picked on and mocked a lot but dammit if I didn't overcompensate for everything by bringing home near perfect grades every report card. If something was off on my card, I would flip out and throw quite the tantrum. In my adult years though I just have to learn not everything is going to be perfect, that some things are out of my control, that I if make a mistake, who cares? I'm human. You can see from that last paragraph that it shows, yes, I know what I need to do. I know what is wrong with me and my therapist recognizes this too. She said knowing is the biggest step. After that comes action. I have the tools, I'm doing the work, I just need a little more faith and confidence in myself. I think posting on this forum was a great start to start gaining that.