Single Parent Vs Nuclear Family Essay

Regardless of race, single parent families are more likely to be poor than married-couple families as shown in figure 4. The ratio is six times among Whites, four times among Asians and Blacks and more than twice among Hispanics. In fact, a single parent encounters more hardship for finding jobs, so to have financial resources, whereas, she/he needs more means to meet their needs.

What is a family? The meaning of family has changed throughout history. It means something different to many people. According to the U.S. Census Bureau: “A family includes a householder and one or more people living in the same household who are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. All people in a household who are related to the householder are regarded as members of his or her family. A family household may contain people not related to the householder, but those people are not included as part of the householder’s family. Thus, the number of family households is equal to the number of families, but family households may include more members than do families. Not all households

Single parents don’t necessarily raise their children alone; they can have support from family and friends. Single parents also tend to parent better, they are stricter with their decisions and their children respect their choices. When it comes to creating a healthy family, it's not about the number of parents, but the quality of parenting a child receives that is most important. A home is only "broken" when healthy family interactions break down, for example when people stop communicating adequately. In the situation where both parents are raising the child, but the family situation isn’t healthy it can do more harm on the child than good. Certain situations such as a violent household

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.

Though most people would believe that the majority of families in the United States are nuclear families, because that is what is considered to be normal, that is untrue. The majority of families in the U.S. deviate from nuclear households. My family is no different. My family has not been considered nuclear for several years now. My family constists of my mother, stepfather, my older stepbrother, me, my younger stepbrother, and my younger biological brother. As for extended family, I still have all four of my grandparents, one great grandmother, three aunts, three uncles, and several cousins. Each of these people all still play a role in my life, and I am very close to them.

A brief view of the 4 decades within the periods of 1950 to 1990 would show us a significant shift from the conventional nuclear family to the non-conventional modern family. Starting from the 1950s, the families were nuclear, where members worked together, understood their roles, and did what was expected of them; by the 1960s, there were a few sitcoms that began to undermine the television parent’s authority by privileging the independence of nearly adult or adult children; by the 1970s, the authoritative father began to disappear as they were no longer

In this paper, I will use the sociological imagination to connect my personal experiences of growing up in a nuclear family to comparison of growing up in a divorced family. I’m from a nuclear family and my best friend is from a divorced family. “Some people still think the average American family consists of a husband who works in paid employment and a wife who looks after the home, living together with their children” according to Giddens, Anthony pg. 447. That’s not the case in many households. There are many differences, from values, financial issues, and how having one parent opposed to, two parents growing up. Growing up in a nuclear family household has given me the opportunity to have both parents supporting me and always being there, having both parents at special events, giving me the guidance from both perspectives man, and women, love, and financial aid. My best friends parents have been divorced for over 19 years, her living style is much different. She has to make certain days available to visit her father, and her mother has financial difficulties.

Day after day, children grow up in such family would convince to believe, or affected by their parents that the thoughts of “I am not normal” when compare with others. So, Single-parents should establish a sense of responsibility, pay attention to the unity between education and love. Regardless who owns the custody of child; they should establish a sense of responsibility: Do not hide the “truth” to their children. Do not slander each other maliciously; allowed to visit are of vital important aims to transmit a positive image to child – despite the separation, but not enemies. Furthermore, do not strive to compensate the child with any kinds of materials if it is over normal demands due to their guilty.

Particular individual parents often enter schools to get a better job to support their child. Being a single parent, the individual can control how their money is spent. The parent also does not have to worry about the other mate losing it by having a problem. “A single parent must have a flexible job that allows her to leave work for sick children, doctor’s appointments, parent conferences and school performances”(McGrath). If that parent does not get a flexible job, then it will hurt the child in the long run. A solution to the flexible job is to maybe stay at home where an individual can work from home and still get their expected income. On the other hand, a traditional family can easily handle their financial state. They have two steady incomes to support their household and life. Single parents also have troubles with childcare. If their child is young, they will need somebody to take care of that child. Traditional families do not have to worry as much. It is more of an outcome that the father is there if the mother is not.

Another way growing up in a single parent household can affect a child’s life. Some children of single parents tend to develop some hard feelings towards a parent or in some cases both parents. These feelings include anger, sadness or happiness. A reason why a child might feel anger is because the may not like one parent for not helping out and being there in their life, or might blame the parent for their challenges in life. They might feel sadness from not be able to have both parents in their life fully. However, they might just find happiness from their parents splitting up. Maybe their parents just weren't not getting along. The happiness may come from the feeling of relief, knowing that their parents can’t argue anymore. Children will take the situation differently. However, no matter which feeling the feel, hardships are to come.

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

Children and single parenting begins with the divorce of a couple who have children. The majority of children live with their mother. Non custodial fathers usually have less contact with their children, and involvement usually declines as time goes by. Since most single-parent households are mother-headed their income is usually below that of a man, this causes economic distress and fewer opportunities for educational and extracurricular experiences for the child. Economic constraints may limit growth enhancing experiences. Even children whose fathers pay substantial child support are faced with limiting experiences. Children hate divorce because having two of the most important people in your life living apart hurts. For children,

Frank Perderson and his colleagues in 1977 conducted research on what the link was between spouse relationship and parent-infant relationship. “Perderson and his colleagues believed that the three units of interaction (mother-father, mother-child, father-child) are interrelated” (according to Perderson 1977). This showed that when the wife and husband showed positive interaction towards each other (smiling and affection) they then would show their infant affection. When there was negative interaction between the wife and husband (verbal critic and blame) it was strongly linked to negative affection shown to the infant by the father.

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.

Families recognise that each person is an autonomous individual and adult children need to be encourage to pursue independent lives. Grandchildren are added and extended family grows, with on-going contact that does not interfere with the new nuclear family, which now work towards developing own boundary. Parents have to realise that adult children no longer need their guidance and economic assistance