Annotated Bibliography : Single Mothers

All across the globe, there are children growing up in single-parent households, and through some research

“With what price we pay for the glory of motherhood” (Isadora Duncan). In Defense of Single Motherhood, by Katie Roiphe, is an essay arguing why being a single mother is better than the traditional two parent method. Although Rophie has a moderate expression of ethos, her poor use of logos, and her struggle with pathos concludes this is a weak argument.

Did you know that more than one fourth of all children in the United States live with only one parent? Single parenting has become more common today than in the 1800s, when it was sometimes frowned upon. As the years have gone by, it has become easier and easier for women to become single parents. In the 1800’s if husbands died or abandoned their families, women had no choice but to work for extremely low and unfair wages. Today, most men and women are treated equal and receive equal wages making it easier for women to be single parents. This concept is shown in Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer through Aunt Polly in the 19th century, single parenting is also common today.

In 2002, number of children living with their single parent was 16.5 million (Davidson). The most important thing is that each single-parent family is different from the other. Children who live with a widowed mother will definitely be living a different home life from children with divorced parents or the one whose parents were never married. Children of the parents who were divorced will always have some kind of relationship with parents and parents’ partners. But it is obvious that children from single-parent families face tougher times economically as well as

In today’s society it is not unusual to have a one-parent family with a young mother in charge. Teen mothers having children has increased so much over the years that it’s now a common occurance. Being a young single mother in today’s society is challenging but with the help of government assistance single mothers are finding their way.

As time progresses, family structures are rapidly shifting. In 2007, unmarried parents produced 40% of US children. This was over twice the 18 percent in 1980 and about eight times greater than the 5% in 1960 (Waldfogel, Craigie, Brooks-Gunn, 2).  In a study of 5000 children in many large cities, 3,700 of them were born to unmarried mothers. According to Waldfogel, Craigie, and Brooks-Gunn, such familiar conditions are dangerous because of the way that single mothers and unmarried parents tend to have less stable lives and relationships

Families who have dealt with being a single parent typically see themselves being judged by other parents. For example, Jamie Rush a teen mom said "If he acts up, or if he falls over and bumps his head, I always think people are looking at me as if to say "It's because you're a teenager." (Rush 3). This shows that teen moms are trying their best and love their kids too. Schools are helping teenage single parents. Take the case of Jamie, after she gave birth to her son, she went to an alternative school with a built in daycare (Rush 1). This tells you that there is help for teens out there, but it's not always available to everyone. Socially speaking, one of the primary causes of single parents is because of one of the parent's death. Through research, we have found that the primary cause of single-parent households was because of parental death (Chamie 1). This proves that not all single-parent homes is because of teen pregnancies. As a result, there are many single parents struggling with being judged, or because of significant other's death. But there are schools, helping

Today, many households are headed by single women raising children, some with the presence or involvement of the father and others without. According to Vargas et al. (2016), parenting by a single mother is defined as a home sustained by a maternal caregiver for many reasons to include absence, neglect, divorce, or death of the other parent. According to Anderson (2002), half of American children at some point in their childhood will live in a household that’s being reared by a single parent, who is primarily the mother. Lowry (2005) uses the term “social disaster” when describing the epidemic of absenteeism of father from the household.

In this article, Arland goes over some questions that single parents may have and suggest helpful ways to cope. He also includes a paper that gives very interesting research about the long-term developments about the important values and beliefs in a single parent family. Some questions have also risen concerning this topic for example, what are the reasons for different trends in these types of families.

Being a single mother can be very difficult in society. In “In Defense of Single Motherhood,” author Katie Roiphe talks about the issues single mothers face daily. The article covers issues from people thinking that single mothers are bad for society to having studies done on families with a father and mother and then comparing that to single mothers. The goal of the article is to lead people to be more open-minded on the topic of single mothers and show us how an idea of a perfect family that is pushed in picture books, classrooms, and from adults can be misunderstood from a very young age. Ultimately, Roiphe’s essay “In Defense of Single Motherhood” works as a persuasive essay because of its adept use of ethos, pathos, and logos.

Children raised in single mother families may be at increased risk for depression and anxiety. Single parenting has lost much of its stigma because it has become commonplace; however, there are still concerns about its impact on children. “Approximately one in three children live in a single-parent family in the United States, with the majority of families (83%) headed by a mother” (Daryanani et al. 2016, p. 1411). This is an important topic in today’s society because some single mothers may feel isolated, emotionally overwhelmed, and struggling financially. When an adult is constantly stressed, the child absorbs and mirrors these feeling as well. The researcher will specifically compare depression and anxiety of adolescents raised in single

Divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing are now epidemic in American society. Both forms of disrupted families are harmful to children and to society. The children of single parents are more likely to do poorly in school, commit crimes, and become single parents themselves. In addition, the increase in single-parent families contributes to such social problems as poverty, crime, and a decline in the quality of public education.

The single parent also showed lower ego functioning and in turn were less playful with the children, less empathetic, less tolerant of negative behavior from the children, and more likely to display non-age appropriate behavior (Walker & Hennig, 1997). Single mothers are more likely to make negative statements about and to their children, therefore resulting in a low self esteem in the child. Walker and Hennig (1997) also discovered an up side to single parenting, the relationship between parent and child was more nurturing. This could come from the loss of intimacy in the single parent's life.

Single parent households are a sensitive topic that is highly debated today. This topic is one that has repercussions for both the parents and the children involved. However, regardless of the different consequences, these households continue to grow in the coming years. “In 1970, traditional two-parent married households dominated, making up 81 % of all households in the United States (US). By 2012 this number dropped to around 66 % … In 2012, approximately 21 million children, or 28 % of all children in the US, lived with one parent” (Kramer, 2015). It is interesting to look at the way the single parent households continue to grow throughout the years, all while being a hot topic for discussion on its consequences. When thinking about a book to read for this course, there was no real choice. I stumbled upon this book and knew right away that I could benefit from this book, as well as connect to it on a deeper level and relate to it personally.

Being a single mother can be very difficult in society. In “In Defense of Single Motherhood,” author Katie Roiphe talks about the issues single mothers face daily. The essay covers issues from people thinking that single mothers are bad for society to having studies done on families with a father and mother and then comparing that to single mothers. The goal of the essay is to lead people to be more open-minded on the topic of single mothers and show us how an idea of a perfect family that is pushed in picture books, classrooms, and from adults can be misunderstood from a very young age. Eventually, Roiphe’s essay “In Defense of Single Motherhood” works as a persuasive essay because it appeals the use of ethos, pathos, and logos.