Pros And Cons Of Single Mothers

Is there a reason traditional families have lasted for thousands of years? In the argumentative essay “In Defense of Single Of Motherhood” by Katie Roiphe, the author is arguing that a single mother is a significant way to raise children. Roiphe also includes how being a traditional mother and father family is unsuccessful and frustrating. Although being a single mother may work for her, countless numbers of single mothers struggle in many different ways. These struggles affect the mother and the children as well. Being a single mother is harmful for a family because a child needs a father figure, it is too much stress on one person, and it is financially difficult to raise a family on one income.

About four in every ten children born in America in 2008 were born outside of marriage, and they are disproportionately minority and poor. “Only about 6 percent of college-educated mothers’ births are nonmarital versus 60 percent of those of high school dropouts” (5). Scholars responded to this by studying single-parent families.

“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.

Children born to single or unwed parents causes serious problems and discussions not only within society, but also the welfare system. Becoming a parent seems to be one of the most beautiful things life has to offer to people. The laughter of children warms the heart like nothing else can, and the way their eyes light up when they receive something as small as a piece of candy reminds us all that the little things in life are the most important. However, children require time and money which often gets overlooked by many people. Raising a child with two married parents seems difficult enough, but today many people are having children out-of -wedlock which also seems to create more single parent homes and puts more pressure on that one parent who struggles to support the child. From 1960 to 2000, out-of-wedlock births grew by 600%

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

For the first five years of my childhood, I was raised in a single parent home. My mother would have to work harder to provide anything that was needed for me and my other siblings. But that changed when my father came back into our lives when I turned six. From that point on our family structure took a drastic change for the better. My mother didn't have to work as long as before, so we were able to see her more often. Having two parents at home caused the quality of our lives become better than it was before when only one parent supported us. For many households, however the reality is that only one parent during their upbringing. This does have a rather big effort on them in the life of the child and the parent who is raising the child. A single parent household harms the parent and the child.

Most of the studies that she cites come from Sara S. McLanahan, a Princeton sociologist. To counter the beliefs she argues that people pick out what they want to hear and don’t get the message of the study. “But since these studies provide fodder for those who want to blast single mothers, it’s worth addressing what they actually say”. “…There is no conclusive evidence that, absent those conditions, the pure, pared-down state of single motherhood is itself dangerous to children”. Roiphe states that there are just as many single mothers raising good and bad children as there are family’s together raising good and bad children. She states that it comes down to what type of parent a person is, will show how their child will become as an adult. She states that people should change the way they think a normal family should be and think more openly about it. Furthermore, she wants Americans to accept different types of family’s instead of arguing about who has the right type of

In the United States, the so-called “nuclear family” is still considered the typical American family unit. However, in recent years the colloquial definition of a family has become more inclusive and accepting of those made up of gay parents, interracial parents, single parents, and even those who choose not to have children. Despite the general upward movement in positivity towards these different groups, a recent Pew Research poll has come to show that a good majority of Americans (approximately 70%) believe that one of these is inherently “bad for society”: single mothers (Conan 2011). This kind of attitude is not new, either; single mothers have continuously been viewed by society as lacking or incompetent, looked upon with disdain, ridiculed, and are often even cast aside by their own families. This stigma attached so firmly to these single mothers hurts deeper and more painfully than just as an emotional blow. Poverty is a huge concern for single mothers, and one could argue that society’s attitude towards single mothers is one of the root causes of this. The stigma against single mothers should be eradicated because it is largely based on misinformation, and single mothers already have to deal with blatant sexism and racism in the United States. To generate sympathy for these mothers and create a more welcoming society towards “alternative” family types such as theirs, an advertising campaign should be taken up to show the struggles these women go through along with

There have been monumental changes in the way we view and live our lives, resulting in both good and bad consequences. This would include the changing face of the average family. A major concern of the single parent, more often the single mother, regardless of ethnicity or reasons for single status, is financial. For the middle-class and down population, the prevalence of unmarried, female, single and head of the household families without interaction from the father has led to stereotypes. Above that “line”, many of single-mother households are the result of divorce and have less emphasis on the financial contributions of the absent parent.

Summary: Singles mother hurt themselves and children by trying to show society that they are strong and that they can survive by their own. This source show us how kids can be affected in a bad way because of their mother status. When those women decide to bring to the family a new integrant, kids get hurt with their emotional and in their academy life as shown in this quote “ The more “transitions” experienced by a child — the arrival of a stepparent, a parental boyfriend or girlfriend, or a step- or half sibling — the more children are likely to have either emotional or academic problems, or both.” (Hymowitz, 2014)

According to a recent study from CBS, the United States has the highest divorce rate of any country at 45%. Due to this high rate of divorce, many families find that there is an imbalance of family roles in these newly created single parent households. Being a single parent has its own set of challenges for the individual and creates challenges for the family such as, spending smaller amounts of time with your children, having an excessive work load and disrupting the wellbeing of the children.

Many children in today’s society have grown to become successful and mentally stable whether they had two parents, or one parent raise them. With everything in life it is never about quantity, but quality. This could apply to single parenting as well. As long as a parent create a stable and nurturing home their child will grow up to be a mature, hard working, independent, and loving adult. Family structure should not be the main focus when it comes to raising children, the focus should be on the values and life lessons that are taught to the child as they mature in life. Family structure in the last decade have change drastically. Children are being raised by same sex parents, grandparents, extended family, a single father, or a single

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.

Married couples make up 68% of all families with children under 18, compared to 93% in 1950 (US 2015 Census). This demonstrates that more and more children are living in households with single parents. Single parents have to deal with jobs and other sources of stress making it difficult to give their children the attention they need. Additionally, single parents are the only ones that are providing for the family so they have a lot on their plate. This can provide stress on the child because they can feel unloved or even hated. As the rate of single parents go up, so does the amount of children that are not receiving enough