A dysfunctional family is a family in which conflict, misbehavior, and often child neglect or abuse on the part of individual parents occur continually and regularly, leading other members to accommodate such actions. (Shelley, 2016) Many people tend to believe that single parent households don’t experience any or minimal levels of dysfunction. For this research paper the dark side of relationships of children and adults in single parent dysfunctional households will be explored and evaluated. Having grown up in a single parent home that was terribly dysfunctional, I can give firsthand accounts of what this type of environment was like. I can remember growing up with a strong mother who refused to show weakness. Which in hindsight, was not good at all for me in the long run. It led me to become very distant and uncaring towards others that I came in contact with. In some instances I now realize I was over compensating in relationships based upon the dysfunction in my single parent home life. As a family we never ate together, we never came together for conversations, we never told each other I love you, basically, we didn’t socialize together at all in the home. This very point was addressed in the notes about lack of time …show more content…
One thing is for certain, I had a very tumultuous childhood. I was very rebellious and searched for love in all the wrong places. It is my belief that my mother didn’t know how to show us love because her parents didn’t show her love. This is a prime example of toxic parenting. Therefore, I didn’t know how to love or value myself in a healthy way. Single parenting (not by choice) has become a huge epidemic in the United States. I’m not here to imply or implicate that children who grow up in single parent homes are more dysfunctional than those who grow up in married
I disagree with critics who say if you not brought up in the ideal traditional family way you are going to live in poverty, or you going to get involved in drugs or alcohol or inherent a mental illness. I am a person who has grown up in a single parent household and I’m not what critics say I am. I do not live in poverty, I do not use drugs or alcohol and my health is very much intact.
In the book Stones by William Bell it is tells a story on prejudice, the supernatural, history, it’s continuous cycle of racism, and labelling. One of the most underlying themes in the novel is Parent-Youth Relationships. Majority of the book touches base on the two main characters; Garnet Havelock and Raphella Skye’s dysfunction within both their families, the main relationships are Garnet & his Mom, Garnet & his Dad, and Raphella and her Mom. The relationship between Garnet and his Mom is offbeat because they are neither close and neither distant from each other, they have each other best interest but aren’t best friends. Garnet and
Single parent homes provide clear communication between the parent and the child. Communication is something that has to be developed between one person to the other person. It really helps, because it gets children use to being told no. Also it gets children to think of other ways to compromise using their mouths instead of resulting to violence. It allows for a clear understanding between two people. In Publisher Carl E. Pickhardt, PhD’s article “Why Single Parents Can Parent Adolescents Well” he writes, “With much t talk about and less time to talk, busyness causes single parents to speak directly and to the point, not hesitating to speak up when difficult issues need to be addressed, and treating conflict not as a challenge to their authority, but as a talking point.” (Pickhardt 6).
Even though Dee and Maggie are sisters, they have very different opinions about how the world is. Dee moved away from the county to live in the big city, whereas Maggie still lives with their mother. Dee has also gotten her way and expects it from her family constantly. She's a very attractive, educated, and successful young woman and radiates confidence. Maggie has always been sheltered by her mother and is very shy and introverted. A fire that happened around twelve years ago has left Maggie's body scarred and her confidence crushed. She's unable to look people in the eyes and shuffles about when she walks. Maggie was also not given the same opportunities as Dee and is uneducated. Dee and Maggie's differences in education, personal style and interpretations of their African heritage make it a struggle for them to have a close relationship with one another.
Walsh, Froma (2003). Normal Family Processes: Diversity and Complexity. New York, NY: Guilford Press http://family.jrank.org/pages/1577/Single-Parent-Families-Effects-on-Children.html retrieved August 24, 2008
Burgess, R. L., & Conger, R. D. "Family interaction in abusive, neglectful, and normal families." Child Development 49 (1998) : 1163-1173.
Research indicates that one-parent families report for about 25 percent of the families in the United States with children under the age of 18. As indicated by researchers “A study of nearly 6,000 children found that youth from single-parent homes have more physical and mental health problems than children living with married parent, and another study confirms single-parent children are 2-3 times as likely to develop emotional and behavioral problems” Clinton, Hart, & Ohlschlager, (2005). The impact of divorce has a high diverse impact on the entire family and continues to create an impact on how children are able to deal and cope with the negative implications of an unhappy couple. A broken family’s children can often feel as though they are causing the problem and seek to either become complaisant to the problem or as they get older seek other forms of feeling loved and happy, which may lead to teenage pregnancy or s...
Single Parent Struggle For many years, children growing up in a single parent family have been viewed as different. Being raised by only one parent seems impossible to many yet over the decades it has become more prevalent. In today’s society many children have grown up to become emotionally stable and successful whether they had one or two parents to show them the rocky path that life bestows upon all human beings. The problem lies in the difference of children raised by single parents versus children raised by both a mother and a father.
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
A child needs both of their parents’ love and affection while growing up. A child that grows up with both has a higher chance of being a more stable person. However, not all children have this luxury; some children are born into dysfunctional families that consist of only one parent like the children in the Wingfield family. “A study of 1,977 children age 3 and older living with a residential father or father figure found that children living with married biological parents had significantly fewer externalizing behavioral problems than children living with at least one non-biological parent” (Consequences of Fatherlessness). The absent parent in the Wingfield family affected everyone in the family, not only the children. The absent father,
It is never a child’s decision to only live with one parent. There are many ways that single-parent homes occur. Some of these ways include unplanned pregnancy, divorce, the decision to be a single parent by choice, and death of a spouse. In every case families are disputed greatly. Parents might experience depression, emotional problems etc…. but the child is affected the most. Single-parent families are commonly targeted for controversial issues. We must be careful that we don’t stereotype these when they’re very hard to take care of themselves and their children. We do however need to notice distinct patterns in children who give up in a single parent home and what problems they face. Even though a dual family is noted as the best environment for c...
A single parent household is a house with only one parent and one or multiple children. Single parent households are becoming very common in all racial and ethnic groups because it is no longer required for people to be married before they have children. Most households only have one parent because of divorce, never being married, separated, widowed, or because of business. The most common are, separation, divorce and just simply never being married. In these cases it is usually the mother who is the single parent. It is not too often that you see a father taking care of their child by themselves. This is usually because they do not know how, or they simply do not want to take care of their child. Statistics show that family structure has a big impact on certain characteristics of a child such as their attitude and level of respect. Children tend to be less respectful to people because they do not respect the parent who is not around. In many cases a child may become depressed living with only one parent causing them to get out of control and do things that they shouldn’t. Sometimes the child may feel like they are incomplete leaving them to do crazy things to find what they feel like they are missing. often times the child feels that they are the reason their parents are not together.
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.
As a child of a single parent household. I have first hand experience on the affects of having only one parent to not only take care of me but also show me and teach me about life and the correct choices that I should make in my life to better myself. Parenting is hard enough but parenting by yourself as a single parent is nearly impossible. You want to do everything for your kid to have a flawless life but the unfortunate news is that you can’t give them everything. Along the lines of helping your child in life as a single parent you are
The first topic to investigate in the increase of violence in society is family dynamics; children are more likely than ever to face a distracted family. The divorce rate has climbed greatly in the last decade. According to Jennifer Baker of the Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in Springfield, Missouri, “50% of first marriages, 67% of second and 74% of third marriages end in divorce.” (Baker, 2009) This would suggest that many children and their parents are facing extreme stress. When parents divorce they often become preoccupied with the situation, this may leave children fending for themselves or with ...