In the modern world, being a student, especially at very early age can be very challenging. Most people don’t realize how much work and dedication it represents, but as a young woman, it is necessary to show organization, courage and dedication. Being a student, either part time with a job or full time, the pregnancy and the daily care of a child interferes greatly with the life of a student. Being young single mother has significant financial, emotional and psychological consequences on a young woman at City College of San Francisco is harder to achieve as chances for success decrease with age.
The financial aspect of a pregnancy nowadays is quite important. Indeed, girls who expect a child in the near future have to plan thoroughly for the
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Back to school with the newborn baby, financial issues will present the new mother with an intense dilemma: she will have to choose between continuing her career as it is right now, balancing school, and mother or she might put a momentary stop to her studies in order to find a job to cater to her child’s needs. “All participants indicated that they experienced some degree of financial instability. Over half had applied for public assistance with the hope of receiving some much needed economic assistance while completing their degree. However, only one participant had been successful in this regard. “While single mother students have some of the same educational concerns as their nonparent student peers, they face a financial burden that is unique. Due in large part to the expenses involved in raising a child, single mother students are more likely than non-parent students to identify finances as a primary source of stress in their lives “Jillian. For the single mother always is very difficult especially in financial and student always have concern how can survive and continue to study for high education and do model for the children. The struggle with being a young single mother is that her career is not yet set and that most older women when giving birth usually have stable situation because they have finished school and are settled down. Even if they are single mothers being older and financially stable decrease the daily stress of this situation. At the contrary when at school, a young student has to deal with homework, exams, tuition, and being able to study after school and take care of her child, which are very difficult situations and imply a lot of courage and organization.
In many cases mothers have to put their career on hold until the child is old enough to go to public schools where tuition is free. “Twelve of the 13 single mother students did not receive financial support from the state
In order to maintain a normal lifestyle, single mothers have to shoulder a lot of responsibilities- running errands and spending time with their kids, besides having to work for long durations at office. Statistically speaking, almost 38 out of every 100 single moms lie below the poverty level, which can be obviated if they possess a bachelor’s degree. For receiving proper education, women like these need financial aids to support themselves through undergraduate school. Thus, keeping in mind such conditions, certain college scholarships have been proposed to financially assist single mothers.
However, the demands put on parents by the workplace can make spending time with the family a difficult task. The technological revolution has made it possible for businesses to assign work after hours which could cut into family time. Balancing family and work is even more difficult for new parents. They must learn what it means to be a parent, maintain a healthy marriage, and continue to provide for their family. According to Kunz (2013), parents experience stress and exhaustion following the birth of their child. Kunz also mentions the responsibility parents have to aid in every aspect of their child’s development. Parents are being pulled in one direction by their infant and another by their boss. This strain can be especially difficult for new mothers who want to breastfeed. Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for 6 months (who.int, 2017). If a woman returns to work quickly after giving birth, she will have difficulty breastfeeding and is at a greater risk for postpartum depression (cbsnews.com, 2017). The need for time to bond with an infant, encourage healthy development of the child, and to rest from child birth are all reasons why parental leave should be offered to all people. The need for time off after the birth of a child is not exclusive to one group. Parental leave should be offered to all types of families and business’ and the government should offer adequate assistance
For low-income families, particularly single mothers, preschool is a huge financial burden. Despite what parents want for their children, it isn’t always a practical option; sometimes, the cost of enrolling their children outweighs the money earned at a job (Mason 46). Soon, mothers are sending their kids to preschool so they can work to make money to pay for preschool. Furthermore, without an education, parents are confined to minimum wage jobs with no hope of advancement (49). Where’s the incentive to work? Robin Mason describes one single mother’s motivation. For her, employment is more than just money; rather, it’s also a means to boost her self-esteem, gain financial independence, and set a positive example for her children. She emphasizes her responsibility to her children to keep a roof over their head, be a good mother, and choose a quality daycare (47).
Single moms are the most affected and providing childcare on campus is very beneficial to them. More than 4 million women attend two-year public institutions or community colleges, and more than 1 million of them are mothers. Many student mothers struggle to stay enrolled all the way through graduation. Most of them are more likely to drop out of school, and the reason is because most often there is no affordable or available childcare and the students have limited financial resources. The average daycare center cost for an infant is higher than a year’s tuition and fees at a public college. It makes affordable on-campus child care a necessary provision for students. Childcare on campus helps to contribute to the learning
Students entering college for the first time become concern with their college life. The students are on their own once they enter college. There are no parents or guardians telling them when to do homework, when to go to bed, or how to eat healthy. These student are now responsible on how they are going to succeed in school and meet their own needs. From the beginning, these students wonder what their experience is going to be like and are they going to handle the demands from college. Students are becoming more stressful due to academic demands, social life, and work. First-year college students should receive more help from school to learn how to help themselves and become independent.
Creating true economic opportunity through higher education requires promoting and preparing women, especially single mothers, for careers in STEM and traditionally male-dominated fields (Nelson, Froehner, & Gault, 2013). By counseling student mothers to pursue these fields in which they are underrepresented, it will facilitate single-mother student success. Counselors should also provide single-mother students with concrete guidance that is more relevant to their daily lives; i.e. campus resources, public assistance, book vouchers, child-friendly meal plans, etc. (Cerven, Park, Nations, & Nielsen,
Lack of money should not stop a student from completing their education, but mostly their dream to become whatever they want to be” (Helena G 1). Many students who live poor lives do an excellent job in school, but do not have enough financial support to enter college. No outstanding student should remain home with a chance of getting a college degree.
Can they afford to send their child off to college? How much is the total cost for their education? These are common questions amongst parents who are thinking about having their child attend college. With many Americans living paycheck to paycheck, college can seem nearly impossible. Families are trying their best to set aside money for their children but are constantly being put into a bad position as the cost of tuition raises each and every year. “No one should be denied the opportunity to get an education and increase their earning potential based solely on their inability to pay for a college education.”(Scott, Bobby) All children should have access to a quality education and not burden a family nor put the student into debt.
The stereotypical version of the normal life of a teenager proceeding to college would include high academic standards met throughout their high school career and outstanding outside testing scores resulting in automatic entry into the institution of their choice. Many of these individuals have the support of their accomplished family members in the form of financial support. There are those who have not had the luxuries of any easy upbringing but forced to decide between a life with a college degree or full-time employment. For myself I want to have it all and to achieve that I have taken on both.
Going back to college after you have been out of school for quite a few years, had three children, been married, and divorced is a lot harder than I ever imagined. It takes hard work, dedication, and missing out on the little things previously taken for granted. I miss taking naps the most. I believe if you can tough it out through the worst days, you can finish school and provide a better life for your children and yourself. You need a lot of willpower and a large sense of humor.
Also, single mothers who do have the opportunity to finish high school, then college creates barriers. These barriers can include unfamiliar college environment, childcare needs, transportation and affordable housing (Megan and Hartmann, 1997), as a result it appears, single mothers upon completion of these programs find it hard to get jobs that generate enough income to support their family (Purmort, 2010 pp. 15-16 ). Another divergent with the labor force of single mothers this research seems to reveal is the sudden shift from financial incentives to dependent on working earning alone (Moffitt, p.17). Working mothers generate larger budgets and find it more difficult to make ends meet than when they received welfare (Edin and lein p.254).
The reduced earnings of women have an impact on 7.4 million households run by single working women. Over two point one million families consisting of working single mothers were considered poor. An added two point four million working single mothers were severely struggling to barely make ends meet. They were falling between 100 and 200 pe...
One pressing issue continues to burden families across the United States: the absurd prices of childcare. As parents strive to balance their careers and provide the best for their children, the financial strain of childcare lingers. There are wide-ranging debates concerning equitable access–considering root causes, consequences, and potential solutions–but no means have made much of an impact. The high expense and scarcity of childcare has inhibited working families for far too long. Many parents’ paychecks alone are insufficient to pay for childcare services; therefore, they cannot work because they have to stay home with their children.
In a society with the muajority of mothers joining or returning to the workforce, there is a growing body of research documenting the demands placed on these women and what can be done to help their transition into this new role. According to the United States’ Department of Labor, in the year 2012, 70.5% of mothers with children under the age of 18 were a part of the workforce; of these women 73.7% were employed full-time, working over 35 hours a week, and 26.3% were employed part-time, working less than 35 hours a week (United States Department of Labor, 2012). Given this information, it is becoming more important to further research how this new role as an employee affects the role of parenting and what can be done to help this transition. The intent of this paper is to compare the experiences of a working mother to the current research on the topic of working mothers. Moreover, this paper addresses the demands placed on working mothers as well as the factors that ameliorate their transition into this new role.
When taking into consideration the generations of women that have suffered from the biased expectations forced upon them by society, it is to be expected that they are exposed to a limited amount of skill gain and work experience. According to the article “Women, Gender Equality and Covid-19,” studies have shown, “... even when fathers are single parents, they continue to do less childcare and work more hours than single mothers [...] Thus, single mothers have less support than fathers or other mothers and face more difficulties coping with the pandemic and balancing work and family” (Carli 649). Unfortunately, this means that women today – more often single mothers, are more likely to fall into a situation where they must give up work duties in favor of caring for the household. A prominent effect of this issue is a loss of work responsibility and the ability to devote time to skills within their desired profession.