Parent Families Are A Common Theme Throughout The United States Essay

Ketteringham, Kristin, . "Single Parent Households - How Does it Affect the Children? ." 6 July 2007: 5. Web. 28 Sep 2009. .

Though it is a very long nonfiction book, I found myself unable to put it down. I cried a lot and literally laughed out loud while reading this book, and found myself extremely emotionally connected to Kunte Kinte. This book did meet and exceed my expectations. It was vey painful for me to read, yet I am beyond grateful that I was recommended to read it. The story-telling was so descriptive, it put a weight on my heart and made me think and contemplate about the book even when I was not reading it. I think the author did everything perfectly, and I have no critiques. I would like to thank the author for such an amazing historical account and piece of literature.

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

The image of a perfect family has been a staple for popular television shows and commercials hawking everything from luncheon meat to microwaveable TV dinners. It is a far reaching concept known by almost anyone living in the country, all over the world and people considering immigrating to the US. It is a fabricated dream, which does not truly exist. It is merely a false goal, striving to achieve this standard, and the aesthetic of the lifestyle is one which has been heavily marketed and changes frequently with the times. Sports utility vehicles, pristine lawns, massive backyards and home security systems are marketed as necessities for the modern American

The children are leaving for school just as father grabs his briefcase and is off to

The Brady Bunch were the ideal families in the 1960's and 1970's, and in the 80's, it was Family Ties. When the 1990's approached us, television shows took on a whole new outlook on American Families. There were shows such as Full House, which was about a single father raising three daughters with the help of his brother-in-law and his best friend. Roseanne was also another show that showed the "dysfunctional" side of families. American Families keep changing, and they will continue to change in our future.

However, by rising to these challenges, custodial single parents develop significant strengths. The positive benefits of being a single parent are that the child receives a lesson in independence. The child sees how strong the one parent is at providing them with everything they need without having to depend on someone else. The parents are showing their children that it is possible to live on their own, have an enjoyable life and take care of others while doing so. The children will know that they are a priority to the parent. When there is a second parent around the house, it can be easy to put responsibility off on them, but when the children see how hard the parent is working for them, they will understand how important they are to their parent. (Dowd, 1997)

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

Single-Parent homes are defined as “families in which either the father or mother is absent because of divorce, marital separation, out-of-wedlock pregnancy, or death” (Greenberg, 2002: 329).

At the end of World War II, people seeked a secured and stable family. Thereby, it created the iconic breadwinner father, the mother who took care of the house and the children, and the children who focused on their studies. The societal pressures of men and the economic incentive for women to stay married allowed this typical family model to thrive during this time period. This a period of conformity lead to both men and women who abide by strict gender roles and complied with society’s expectations; this family model ultimately hinders our society.

n the upcoming page’s I will answer the following questions. Why is family the most important agent of socialization? What caused the dramatic changes to the American family? What are the changes? I will discuss the differences in marriage and family, I will discuss how they are linked to class, race, gender, and personal choices. The purpose of this study is to explore the many different family functions and the paths that people are now choosing. I will give my opinion on whether these changes have had a positive or negative affect. I will finally discuss the trend of the modern family, back to pre-World War II family structure, how would that effect the strides that have been made in the progression of women rights.

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.

“Single-parent families now constitute 30 percent of all families with minor children and are the most rapidly growing families in America” (as cited in Dowd, 1997). When people hear the term ‘single-parent’ they automatically think it means a person who is the legal guardian of a child or children. It is typical for a single-parent to be a woman, because the statistics on the proportion of the children who live with their mother is at 87 percent, while a small 13 percent live with their father (as cited in Dowd, 1997). Because of the diversity in household types, a common question has been asked several times. Which type is better? Raising a child in a single-parent household or a two-parent household?

During the years, single parent families have become a more common thing. This is starting to become a problem, because family dynamics can really influence a child’s life. According to studies it affects not only the child but the parents too.

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.