Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Single mothers in society
Single mothers in society
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Many people nowadays are considered disenfranchised: the mentally ill, homeless, elders and many more. One major group that is often discriminated against are single parents. In recent years there has been a rise of single moms in the United Stated. With the increase of single parent households comes the rise of discrimination towards them. Single moms are often considered unhealthy for society and manipulative. Single mothers are discriminated against in the workforce and at social gatherings, and are often judged by society in general. The workforce can be a hard place, but for single mothers, it seems to be a much more threatening area. Women have been turned down from a job for being a single mother and some women have even been fired from a job for being pregnant without a husband to help support the baby. Single mothers have also been bullied at their work. Coworkers will taunt them about having spouses and a relaxed family to go home to that is run by two adults. Once single mothers get a job, they have a risk of losing it. They have no one to take care of her chil...
financially. In a world where prices keep inflating and wages are being cut, single mothers have become
The struggles Cecelia faced as a single mother working to complete a degree and support herself and her son did strike a familiar tone with me. Although I did raise my daughter as a single mother in California for almost six years, unlike Cecelia I was well employed, had completed my bachelor’s degree, and was in my thirties. Even so I also struggled more than occasionally with bias against my status as a single mother, albeit a successful professional, and the unanticipated ways this affected my daughter. There were clear biases evinced by teachers, child care workers, doctors, childless friends and coworkers, who all believed that they had not only the right to judge my d...
This book is a study of the personal tales of many single mothers, with intentions to understand why single mothers from poor urban neighborhoods are increasingly having children out of wedlock at a young age and without promise of marrying their fathers. The authors chose to research their study in Philadelphia’s eight most devastated neighborhoods, where oppression and danger are high and substantial job opportunities are rare. They provide an excellent education against the myth that poor young urban women are having children due to a lack of education on birth control or because they intend to work the welfare system. Instead, having children is their best and perhaps only means of obtaining the purpose, validation and companionship that is otherwise difficult to find in the areas in which they live. For many of them, their child is the biggest promise they have to a better future. They also believe that though their life may not have been what they want, they want their child to have more and better opportunities and make it their life’s work to provide that.
What is a single parent? Is it one who destroys their child’s life? Is it one who ultimately cannot raise a minor on their own? Or is it one who dedicates their lives to the well being of their kid? Imagine a parent, and for whatever reason they were left alone to raise a child. That parent you imagined has to work long hours just to put a meal on the table. That parent has to play the role of the mother and father. That parent has no financial support. Unfortunately, in our society, this image of a single parent is looked down upon. There are people that don’t realize how much a single parent goes through to give their child a better life.
One of the issues that demonstrated how sexism and heterosexism shape social welfare policy is the plight of single mothers. The well-being of single-parents, especially single mothers has been an important issue for the United States given that at least 50 percent of children who are currently growing up in the country will spend part of or their entire childhood in a single-parent family (Casey & Maldonado, 2012). As compared to other countries, single-parent families in the United States are worst off with high unemployment rates and poverty rates. This issue demonstrates how sexism and heterosexism influence social welfare policy since it has been the basis of establishment of various regulations to address the problem. The issue has been the basis of the implementation of TANF to deal with the high unemployment and poverty rates of single mothers. However, this policy has been ineffective since it makes people become more independent and does not meet the needs of women effectively. Therefore, it continues to be the basis for policy considerations to help single
People are judged for being single parents, struggling to help their kids, but in reality being a single parent can be a good thing. Children that have both parents that work most of the time feel neglected and lonely which could lead to depression or acting out and rebellion later on in life. One of my family’s long times friends had this same exact problem. The family was in excellent financial shape because both parents worked. They had high level jobs working as doctors at the same hospital, but they never really made time for their children. The parents worked constantly away from home, and now the family is very dysfunctional. The children who are now adults never visit or talk to their parents. It shows that money is not everything, and that a stay at home mom is not just a suppressing stereotype it’s a beneficial tool to your children’s happiness and
“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 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.
The Family structure has changed significantly in the last fifty years. With higher percentages of marriage ending in divorce, and higher rates of childbearing out of wedlock, single parent families are increasing rapidly. “Seventy percent of all the children will spend all or part of their lives in a single-parent household.” (Dowd) Studies have shown that the children of these families are affected dramatically, both negatively and positively. Women head the majority of single- parent families and as a result, children experience many social problems from growing up without a father. Some of these problems include lack of financial support, and various emotional problems by not having a father around, which may contribute to problems later in life. At the same time, children of single-parent homes become more independent because they learn to take care of themselves, and rely on others to do things for them.
Single parenthood culture seems appealing to many married people. However, married individuals are forced to battle with elements like faithfulness and life-long commitment to one individual, which may be boring in some cases. However, single parents, especially single mothers encounter serious challenges related to parenting. Single parenting is a succession of constant mental torture because of ineptness, self-scrutiny, and remorse. At some point, single parents will often encounter serious psychological problems some graduating to stress and eventual depression. Again, there are far-reaching problems that force single mothers to a set of economic or social hardships. Social hardships are evident as address in this research.
Single mothers, young mothers, and mothers in general have stereotypes attached to them. When you walk into a store with your child, depending on which of those stereotypes you fall into, people treat you completely different from the way they would if you were without child. I have ventured out without my son and with him to get my own perspective on how sales people and the general public react to me; I have also observed how people react to other single mothers, married mothers and single people. I volunteered two of my friends to go with me each time to observe how other people acted toward me.
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.
About 75 percent of the 68 million women working in the United States will become pregnant at some point in their careers. Women with children are one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. labor force. In 1975, 47% of women with children under the age of 18 were employed; by 2008, this number grew to a notable 71% (Miner et al. 60. The nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn Compared to other workers, mothers are often viewed as less competent, less productive, and less committed to their job, which is assumed to result in increased absenteeism and resignation (Byron and Roscigno 5).
baby, therefore it's even harder for the mother. All of a sudden the girl is
Is being a single mother a the most inspiring, difficult, demanding, and rewarding job in the that a person can have? I always looked up to my mother as a loving and caring inspiration to me and others who she came in contact with. Even though I always looked at my mother as a role model she is not perfect, I watched her make mistakes such as abusing prescription medication she received due to an injury, spend money irresponsibly, and procrastinate time and time again. My family has battled hardship, adversity, and lack from the time I was old enough to realize what was happening in the world around me. A mother’s actions in life can leave permanent impressions on her children. I have adopted good and bad habits from my mother. I also learned from her mistakes which made me the person I am today. When I was young she was my inspiration because of the good moral character she possessed. Now that I have seen some of the negative and bad decisions that she made affect her life and everyone that lives with her I strive to do the opposite and make good life changing decisions such as eliminating procrastination and staying away from drugs. A person, especially a mother can be defined by their actions during these tough times. My mother has always been the most