Single Mother Parenting
Current family issue is single mother parenting because it refers to a lot of women including myself that have to deal with single parenting. Single parent families, mostly women have increased in a poverty level outcome. In many instances, a single mother must take on and consist of role expectations, developmental task, and labor inequalities. Problems of single parent families are compounded by economic difficulties. By approaching this topic with the use of Feminist Perspective theory and The Family Development Perspective, I will provide points to why this is a family issue in today’s society.
According to “Feminist Perspectives on Reproduction and the Family”, the traditional family has seen many changes in the
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However, good reasons exist for pushing the developmental perspective to encompass such families. For example, they are systems with the same system properties as two parent families, and they mush accomplish most of the same developmental tasks as two parent families. In fact the principal difference between single parent and two parent families is that the former lack the personnel resources to fill the normatively expected positions in the family. This lack of personnel resources places a heavy burden on the remaining family members, who much compensate with increased effort to accomplish family tasks such as physical maintenance and social …show more content…
"The Reproduction of Mothering; Feminism and Psycohoanalytic Theory; Femininities, Masculinities and Sexualities; The Power of Feelings (Book Reviews)." Http://www.apadivisions.org. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999, 1999. Web. 25 Sept. 2015.
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APA FORMAT CITED
Chodorow, N. (1999). The Reproduction of Mothering; Feminism and Psycohoanalytic Theory; Femininities, Masculinities and Sexualities; The Power of Feelings (Book Reviews). Retrieved September 25, 2015.
Satz, D. (2004, November 6). Feminist Perspectives on Reproduction and the Family. Retrieved September 25, 2015.
Steinmetz, S., & Sussman, M. (2013, November 11). Handbook of Marriage and the Family. Retrieved September 25,
There appears to be widespread agreement that family and home life have been changing dramatically over the last 40 years or so. According to Talcott Parsons, the change in family structure is due to industrialization. The concept that had emerged is a new version of the domestic ideal that encapsulates changed expectations of family relations and housing conditions. The family life in the postwar period was highly affected. The concept of companionate marriage emerged in the post war era just to build a better life and build a future in which marriage would be the foundation of better life. Equality of sexes came into being after...
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There is much debate on what constitutes as a family today. However, Ball (2002) states, “The concept of the traditional family…is not an immutable one. It is a social construct that varies from culture to culture and, over time, the definition changes within a culture” (pp. 68). There is a growing diversity of families today including the commonality of sole-parenting. In order to explore aspects of sole-parenthood objectively, I need to reflect and put aside my personal experience of growing up in sole-parent household. Furthermore, this essay will explore the historical origins, cultural aspects discussing the influences and implications of gender identity, and social structures of sole-parent families, as well as consider the implications in midwifery by applying the sociological imagination. Mills (2000/1959) describes the sociological imagination as “…a quality of mind that seems most dramatically to promise an understanding of the intimate realities of ourselves in connection with larger social realities” (pp.15). In other words, the sociological imagination involves the ability to consider the relationships between personal experiences and those within society as a whole.
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In Of Woman Born, Adrienne Rich effectively weaves her own story into a convincing account of what it means to become a mother within the bonds of patriarchal culture. Her conclusion that the institution of motherhood, which she distinguishes from motherhood, must be destroyed in order to release the creation and sustenance of life into the same realm of decision, struggle, surprise, imagination, and conscious intelligence, as any other difficult, but freely chosen work is substantiated by her courageous confession that contradicts culturally normative notions of motherhood.
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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.
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To thoroughly elaborate on the institution of family we most look at the family as it was before and how much it has changed over time. Throughout the years we are recognizing that the family is slowly being replaced by other agents of socialization. Families in the past consisted of a mother and a father and most times children. We are, as many societies a patriarchal society; men are usually the head of the households. This has always been considered the norm.
In conclusion, single parenting families form a large and significant demographic. Both single parents and children face issues that have a serious impact on the development within the family unit itself and also how the individuals of such family units perform and develop socially. Much understanding is required.