Introduction:
As many families in today’s society suffer to make ends meet, it is important to remember, “Parents with meager means have the same aspirations for their children as other parents. Children from poor families have the same needs as other children” as Mark Sanford (2015) once said. In every family scenario, the basic life can be affected based on the economic situation each family is in. Each family, when put in various scenarios deals with certain circumstances differently. The family scenario that will be applied throughout this essay was based in a single-parent household, where the father had just passed away; there were also two children which the mother had to support on a low wage job. Within this type of family, it was noticed how it may become difficult for single parents to conquer all the issues going on in their lives . (Statistics Canada, 2017) Throughout the many families across Canada, 17% of children live below the poverty line (Stats.Can 2017). When analyzing the mother's income of $3,146 a month, 37,750 a year, it becomes obvious how easily it can become to fall into poverty with only one income, at a close to minimum wage position. Due to the many children in these situations living in a single parent household (Rothman, 2007), the government chose to reach out to these families and provide extra support (Statistics Canada, 2017 2). It is important to give these families an opportunity to succeed and to further their chances of getting
The Toronto Star published an article reporting that Toronto currently has the highest rate of children living in households that are considered low income in Canada (Monsebraaten, 2015). The article reports that in Toronto the child poverty rate is higher than the poverty rate of any other age group. This paper will discuss child poverty, how this is a challenge to public health practices and policies, and finally, discuss potential solutions for public policy that address this issue.
The Single Parents Club is the passion project of two women with first hand knowledge of what it is like to be raised in a single parent household. Suneta Sowemimo was raised by a single mother who quit her job and started an in-home daycare. Suneta’s mother provided the community and other single parents with childcare at an affordable rate. Her passion for this project stemmed at an early age. Suneta noticed that there were very few programs to help single parents and that the current programs available were unsatisfactory. The other driving force behind the Single Parents Club is DaMonique Vest. The oldest of two children raised by a single mother, DaMonique saw how difficult things became when they moved away from their family support system in Florida. Being the oldest she would help out wherever she could. Assisting her brother with his homework, picking him up from school when need be and any other small jobs to help her mother. Being raised in single parent homes these
Poverty is a serious issue in Canada needs to be addressed promptly. Poverty is not simply about the lack of money an individual has; it is much more than that. The World Bank Organization defines poverty by stating that, “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time”. In Canada, 14.9 percent of Canada’s population has low income as Statistics Canada reports, which is roughly about two million of Canadians in poverty or on the verge of poverty. In addition, according to an UNICEF survey, 13.3 percent of Canadian children live in
Grace Abbott once said, “Child labor and poverty are inevitably bound together and if you continue to use the labor of children as the treatment for the social disease of poverty, you will have both poverty and child labor to the end of time.” Child poverty is one of the biggest issues facing Canadian children today. Child poverty can significantly shorten a child’s life. One of the major reasons child poverty in Canada is so high is because of low wages. These children have a disadvantage to all the other children in Canada. There is major inequality among these children. There are many problems that come out of child poverty and effect the children directly. This paper will talk about the four major effects of child poverty; health issues and nutrition, emotional and behavioural issues, education, and their home environment. (Introduction: dimensions of children’s inequality, 2003).
Although Canada is a rich country there are still people who live in poverty, “In 2011, the government classified about 4.7 million men, women and children –– almost 15 percent of the Canadian population –– as poor” (Macionis, Janson, Benoit, & Burkowicz, 2017) but Canada calculates its poverty rate by “one popular measure known as the LICO, a family has an income below the low income cut-off of it spends more than 63 percent of its after-tax income on the necessities of food, clothing, and shelter, including corrections for different family sizes and the cost of living in particular communities.”
Toronto holds onto it 's shameful title: Child poverty capital of Canada, article written by Laurie Monsebraanten, social justice reporter was published on October 13th,2015. According to the article in 2011, $16,456 Measures for the low income of a single person and for a two parent family with two children under the age of 16 the measures of low income was $39,912. This article talks about Toronto having the highest percentage of poverty within the youth community followed by Montreal that is 25%, Winnipeg that is 24%, and Hamilton with 22% of children under 18 years of age growing up in poverty. According to the Revenue Canada tax filer data 140 neighborhoods in Canada have child poverty rates above 40%. The highest concentrations of child poverty in Toronto are in the city 's north-west and five are downtown, including Regent Park which has the highest rate at 63%. Two years ago, Sureya Ibrahim; Community engagement worker created a sewing and catering collectives program for local women in Regent Park to help women use the skills to earn money. Ibrahim has participated in a member of the hall meetings on the issue of anti-poverty efforts. She seeks more training for the youth to get jobs but it 's also challenging because their online access is limited or not assessable at all. This article also points out that the poverty rate for working adults is 24% while just 10% of Toronto seniors live in poverty, children disabilities, Single parent, indigenous, and not white
According to the National Council of Welfare, The majority of those who rely on social assistance in Canada tend to be women, children and people with disabilities, it is noted that government policy focus on getting them into the paid workforce without adequate supports such as childcare, housing, and money for basic expenses, these policies are considered to be unrealistic and create much misery for the Canadians that are forced to live under these policies (Women, 2007). According to Census 2000, the average annual pre-tax income of women from all sources including government transfers was $22,885 or 62% that of what men receive. In Canada, female lone parent families have by far the lowest average total incomes among families. Although women continue to be among the poorest of the poor in Canada, they make up a disproportionate share of the population with low income 2.4 million women in 2001 compared to 1.9 million men (Work, 2004).
Poverty, by definition, means “the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support.” (Poverty Definition, n.d.) Although Canada is a prosperous country and holds a position as one of the top 20 richest countries in the world, poverty is still prevalent. The question poverty holds is; does poverty have a positive or negative impact in the Canadian society? Poverty is a significant discussion because it is a complex epidemic that has significant implications for the entire society as it affects thousands of families in Canada. Many Canadian families today face poverty due to the change of socio-economic trends, and/or other factors such as unemployment or low income, lack of education, divorces, drug addictions, and
Every night there are at least 35,000 people who go without homes in Canada, yet, the Canadian government has little to show for prevention. The “social assistance” (welfare, disability support payments, old age security and employment insurance) provided does not begin to cover for basic living expenses. Today in Victoria, one month's rent in a studio apartment is anywhere from 800-1200 dollars, yet a single recipient of “social assistance” in BC will receive a total of 610 dollars to cover all of their basic needs. Many lower and middle-class Canadians live one day at a time having to make tough decisions whether to pay the hydro bill or fix their car. With the cost of living rising and minimum wage at 10.85 an hour, it makes it almost impossible to be above the poverty line, especially with single income
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)
Thesis/Central Idea: To understand that there are many parents raising their children alone with no help at all. Many single parents have different circumstances that cause them to raise their children by themselves. Being a single parent is not easy there are good days and bad days and most single parents must make it through no matter what. Many single parents do not realize that their children are looking at them for the rest of their lives.
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.
Throughout history a one-parent household has been deemed as a nontraditional family, but in today’s society it seems more and more common with every day. Although the reason and causes vary, each year the number of children raised by a single parent increases. Most people don’t seem to realize how much this can change a child’s future. The impact of childhood experiences simply set the disposition of adulthood and the rest of their lives. There is not one sole factor that affects child development, but one very important one is the role and relationship created with one’s parents. How a child is parented and raised leaves a lasting impression on them, commonly for a
Parenting styles have had many controversial issues over the decades. The way people raised their children back in the 50’s and 60’s are completely different from today society. Back then they believe in the nuclear family, which is a family with a mom, dad, and children. They believe staying together at all cost. If something was breaking or broken you fixed it. At times you wonder if they stayed for love, money, or just for the sake of the children. Now and days it is not the same. Families are broken up for many reasons. Rather it be by death, the other parent wanting out (such as divorce). But in the end there is always a single parent left to take care of the kids in most situations. When something like this happens a negative connotation is brought to the single parent. This paper would show the effects of being raised by a single parent. Just like everything in life there is a good and bad side to everything. So in this paper you should learn the negative and positive effect of being raised by a single parent. The problem of the matter is that society tends to write off the child of single parents. Stating that they are lead down this road of destruction and grouping the entire single parent raised children without seeing the other side. Not saying that being raised by a single parent does not come with it hardships, but the fact is that there is still hope for those children and they can do very well. By always stating the negative it leaves the
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.