Single Parent Homes
A single parent is one who is living without a spouse and/or partner. This individual takes on all of the daily responsibilities that comes with raising a child(ren). Furthermore, consider the single parent the one who provides solely for the child as they are the ones with them most of the time throughout the stint of their entire life. Even when discussing the separation of parents and/or divorce, children live with one parent who is also known as the custodial parent. While the second parent normally has visitation of their child, too. However, in many cases, the second parent is either only seeing the child sometimes or has disappeared from the child's life completely, altogether. Years back, the death of your spouse/partner was the main reason as to why single parenting became a problem. Now a days, children are being raised by children unfortunately. In today's generation, more and more children are suffering as they only have one parent whom they can truly rely on. When the parents separate, the child(ren) may and very well be affected in quite a few ways. It is of prime importance to remember that the mother is generally the parent of the family that is made up of a single parent. It does not matter if it is an unplanned pregnancy or the result of a divorce; the mother always prevails. Single parent families are becoming one of the biggest social problems plaguing America today. The growing number of single families increases year after year. The stress and pressure placed on the parent and the child never makes it any easier. In American society, in 9 out of 10 families the mother is granted the custody rights of the child (Borris). After learning this statistic, you can conclude that a great num...
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...usehold tends to bear many social problems.
a. Single parented work twice as hard and having more hurdles to climb
b. The stress and pressure of raising a child as a single parent is very difficult
3. Most single parented families are mothered.
a. Mothers cope with hard work ethics and also comply with taking care of the child
b. Majority of single parent homes are headed by the mother.
Works Cited
1. Borris, Edward B. "Interference with Parental Rights of Noncustodial Parent as Grounds for Modification of Child Custody by Edward B. Borris." Divorce Litigation Facts. N.p., Jan. 1997. Web. 2 May. 2014.
2. Schaefer, Richard T. "Single-Parent Families." Sociology. 13th ed. Vol. 1. Boston [u.a.: McGraw-Hill, 2013. 318-19. Print.
3. Drew, Ashley. "Single-parent Families." Pine Forge Press. N.p., 14 Aug. 2002. Web. 2 May. 2014.
Archives are filled with articles focused on the outcomes of children raised in single parent homes versus children raised in the nuclear family setting. The subject is highlighted in mass volumes throughout various internet blog forums, newspaper articles, and popular magazines detailing the statistical data and reputed points of view on the outcomes of the subject. Countless bloggers provide substantial personal testimonies highlighting both ends in the debate, while giving readers an inside-look at this situation from all different walks of life. Developing this issue into a broader context, we as the readers have to consider the magnitude of the issue and ask ourselves, “In concern with the betterment of my family, which lifestyle could I possibly adopt to ensure that my children are adequately socialized and prepped for life outside the parental structure?” However, this is not a question that requires a prognosis from a prominent sociologist; in fact, children raised in single parent families are just as capable at success as children raised in the traditional family setting.
For example, the number of working mothers outside the home has increased since 1970’s, but the mother working is not a new phenomenon. “Mothers sold things from the home such as dairy products and woven goods during colonial times, took in boarders around the turn of the twentieth century, and held industrial jobs during WWII” (Benokraitis 16). Social scientists state that familial issues such as desertion, out-of-wedlock birth, and child abuse have sadly always existed. Similarly, children growing up in single parent households are not a novel occurrence. Even with the rate of single parents doubling in the past three decades, it tripled between the years 1900 and 1950. Divorce is also not a recent trend. The micro and macro level manifestations that tend to split the family structure apart have always existed; nonetheless, they were just not as prevalent or popularized by the media. Families are changing, but despite the obstacles, they are resilient. Families manage to cope with everyday stresses and protect their most vulnerable members- the young, old, ill, or disabled. The American family is synonymous with change, but is resilient regardless of gender roles, divorce rates, and alternatives to
Single families have become a common basic family shape within society meaning that there are more families with difficulties that have to be faced. These families can come from a family of divorced parents, the death of a parent, or parents who were never married. The difficulties confronted by single-parent families are fluctuated and numerous. Each family has their own unique challenges that they must endure and overcome during times of transition. They can incorporate changes in the level of family stress, adjustments in one's close to home and family personality, and significant modifications in how the family is overseen. Family administration can be extremely influenced by reduced or modified money related assets, changes in a parent's
Unfortunately, we live in a world were economic times are tough. It can be a struggle for parents to adequately support children - especially if there is only one parent. According to Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development about 15.9 percent of children world wide live in single-parent households. In the United states alone there are approximately 13.7 million single parents today, and those parents are responsible for raising 21.8 million children (approximately 26% of children under 21 in the U.S. today). The question we must ask is, What struggles and psychological effect does separation and divorce have on the parents as well as the children?
Mancini, Richard E. Everything You Need To Know About: Living With A Single Parent. New York: Rosen, 1992. Print.
Additionally, “The Effects of a Single Parent Home on a Child’s Behavior” by Marnie Kunz, “For every $100 of child support mothers receive, their children’s standardized test scores increase by ⅛ to 7/10 of a point” (Kunz, 1). “Living in poverty is stressful and can have many emotional effects on children, including low self-esteem, increased anger and frustration and an increased risk for violent behavior” (Kunz, 1). Welfare and child support has given single parents the ability to spare their children of their financial and relationship issues therefore, children are able to focus on their schoolwork on their personal lives without stress and interference. Also, several scholarships are available for all members of a single parent household. “Fortunately, there are a number of scholarships available to help children of single-parent homes attend college” (Kunz, 2). Poverty by Single Parent Houses no longer prevents children from entering college. Tragedies unfortunately, tend to repeat themselves. In the article titled “U.S. Single Parent Households”, it is said that “70% of gang members, high school dropouts, teen suicides, teen pregnancies and teen substance abusers come from single mother homes” (Ahlberg, 1). Teen pregnancies have been proven to be the root cause of the majority of children being born into
In the trajectory of humanity, single parenting has become a concept internationally accepted by most modern cultures. What exactly causes single parenthood? Well there are many factors in which could result in a single parent household. Death of a partner, divorce, and unintended pregnancy are just some of the causes of single parenthood. Based on this worldwide acknowledgement and understanding, single parenthood is usually aided by monetary help from the government or unions. Although financial help is available, the psychological effects a child goes through could never be fixed by any type of cash value. These psychological traumas and mental changes could affect the parent raising the child as well. Even with some financial help, single parents sometimes struggle to make ends meet. A study featured in Time magazine informed Americans that middle to lower class single parents will work 40+ hour weeks at minimum wage to provide for their child. If the parent is so busy at work, who's watching the child? Sometimes, the single parent might still have connection with their own families. Grandma and grandpa have to raise the child since the parent is hard at labor to provide for their offspring. Occasionally, some of our elderly folk do not have the competence to watch over a child. It might even be that the child is too energetic and could wear out the seniors. The child will then resort to the television, street, friends, etc to learn and grow. These influences might be negative for the child especially if they're not coming from the mother or father. An investigation of single parenting leads to the affirmation that raising a child by yourself is very difficult and must be approached very leniently and effectively.
“Ninety percent of single-parent families are headed by females. Not surprisingly, single mothers with dependent children have the highest rate of poverty across all demographic groups” (Olson & Banyard, 1993, p. 50-56). “Approximately 60 percent of U.S. children living in mother-only families are impoverished, compared with only 11 percent of two-parent families. The rate of poverty is even higher in African-American single-parent families, in which two out of every three children are poor” (Kirby, n.d., Single-parent Families in Poverty section, para.2).
In 1990, seventy-one percent of sixty-four million American children lived in a two parent household. Fifty-eight percent lived with their biological parents. Since the 1970s, there has been a huge increase in the amount of children living with single or divorced mothers. This only is right considering the increase in single women having children, although not all of those women don’t have a significant other. Currently 7.3 percent of children live with an unmarried parent, 9.1 percent live with a divorced parent and 7.4 percent live with a separated or widowed parent. Every year since the 1970s, over one million children have been affected by divorce (Shino and Quinn). Nowadays every where you look, someone has divorced parents. It could be your own parents, your best friend’s parents, your classmate’s parents or even your teacher. In 1988, fifteen percent of children lived with a separated or divorced parent, while 7.3 million more children lived with a stepparent. It is estimated that almost half of the babies born today will spend a portion of their life living in a one-parent family (Shino and
Single parenting numbers increase each year. In America there is almost fourteen million single parents raising about thirty-two million children, twenty six percent are under twenty one years of age. Eighty-two percent of single parents are mothers and about eighteen percent are fathers (“Single Parent Statistics-Average Single Parent Statistics”).There are a lot of stereo types about single parents, most of which are untrue, but some can be true also. Single parenting is becoming more common in this generation, and it’s not just because of one reason. There are many reasons these days that there are single parents.
Worobey, A. R. and J.L. (1988) Single Motherhood and Children’s Health, Journal of Health and Social Behavior
2. Dowd, Nancy. In Defense Of Single Parent Families. New York: New York University, 1997
My Intel that raising a child in a single family home can have an extreme impact on the child lives. I am personally a single mother and raised three children by myself. I first hand saw the unbalancing of gender roles that it puts on children (my Children). When a child is raised in duel parent households, they are afforded the opportunity to choose the role they want. The child can understand the role of each parent and apply that role to their own understanding. Being raised with a single parent, your understanding of life is mirrored through the image of only one person.The weak parenting skills found among single parents in the study may be related not only to the lack of a second parent, but to a lack of income and education as well.
It has been said, children from two-parent families are better off. The setting is also a factor to take into consideration. The increase in single- parent homes has had an extensive and negative effect on children’s development. 50% of marriages end in divorce. We have young people with young minds having children, they can hardly take care of themselves at the age of 21, yet they have decided to bring four children into this world to be raised by one parent. In some communities, majority of the children are being raised by a single parent. Statistics have shown that children raised in a healthy single parent home have more problems emotionally, psychologically, in school, and with the law than those raised in healthy two-parent homes. No matter how good a single parent is, that a single parent can NEVER do for the child how two present, committed, parent partners share and work together; communicate together and solve problems together as equals.
“ The Disadvantages of Single Parenting”. All- About- Motherhood. n.p. n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2011.