The Effects of a Single-Parent Household Essay

Divorce is one of the most common happenings in the world experienced by children. Most children go through different adjustments to become comfortable with the fact that their parents are not together anymore. Children of divorced parents are prone to lifelong effects. Seventy-five to eighty percent of children have divorced parents and twenty-five percent of those children have serious social, emotional, or psychological problems for the rest of their life. Most adults think that it is best for parents to stay together for the sake of their child because having two parents in different households can become difficult for the child socially and academically.

It is during this time a father needs to be present to father, shape and mold his children (Jones, Kramer, Kim A., Teresa L., Armitage, Tracey, Williams, Keith, as cited in Wallerstein, 1980, 1987). On their 10 year follow up, Wallerstein and Kelley found that regardless of the time spent with a father or not, the father continued to be a significant presence psychologically to adolescents, particularly to boys (Jones et al., as cited in Wallerstein, Kelley, 1974). On Kelley and Wallerstein’s 25 year follow up of their now adult participants in their longitudinal study, they have found that the effects of fatherlessness and divorce during their adolescents were long lasting. The participants in the study by Wallerstein et al. (2000) noted that “The impact of divorce hits them most cruelly as they go in search of love, sexual intimacy, and commitment” (p. 299). These same participants also stated in an interview that they had anxiety issues about relationships and intimacy problems into adulthood (Jones et al., as cited in Wallerstein et al., 2000). Wallerstein et al. (2000) participants of the research also stated that they had resentment towards their parents, particularly the fathers who were seen “selfish and faithless” (p. 300).

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

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)

There is much debate on what constitutes as a family today. However, Ball (2002) states, “The concept of the traditional family…is not an immutable one. It is a social construct that varies from culture to culture and, over time, the definition changes within a culture” (pp. 68). There is a growing diversity of families today including the commonality of sole-parenting. In order to explore aspects of sole-parenthood objectively, I need to reflect and put aside my personal experience of growing up in sole-parent household. Furthermore, this essay will explore the historical origins, cultural aspects discussing the influences and implications of gender identity, and social structures of sole-parent families, as well as consider the

For as long as human families have existed, the core family group of a father, mother, and the children has been the ideal composition in what could be considered a balanced and fulfilling functional family. There had been many studies of the effects of having certain members of these groups on the family household present and absent. While there are many hypothesis of the effects of the children in the family in household with a missing parent, most of them are indeed negative and there had been studies that these can vary in many different aspects of a child’s upbringing. These effects will be discussed and functionality of the household family itself will be discussed to look at the issues

Second, Single parents should avoid blindly exclude each other. Many divorced couples not allowed to their child to contact other side, and some even find a place to move to avoid any meeting opportunity, so that children cannot see his father or mother. Some of them are conscious derogatory treat the other side uselessness, and instilling hostility to the child. Children will psychologically form a sense of exclusion. This may be an important reason the character of children from single-family deviated from the normal track.

Which behalf is the best side, the single parent versus the traditional family? A traditional family is defined or described as two parents working together to solve anything that goes on in their house. The advantage of a traditional family is that they are going to have a more stable income that will buy them a reasonable house or an apartment. “The traditional families have two parents, the mom and the dad, jointly raising kids with help and advice from each other” (Magnier). An accustomed family also expresses their feelings towards one another and has respect among others in their home. A dysfunctional family is usually described as conflicted adults living on their own. Although a dysfunctional family may sound inadequate, it is

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

Each and every day a child somewhere in the world is experiencing major changes within their family. One of those major changes is divorce or separation of parents. Divorce is “the action or an instance of legally dissolving a marriage”(Webster, 2011 p1). Today’s reality shows that couples only have one in two odds of remaining together. “ The U.S. Census bureau – involved in research about counseling children of divorce- estimating that approximately 50% of all American children born in 1982 lived in a single-parent homes sometime during their first 18 years. Mostly are due to divorce”(Children of Divorce, 2008 p.1). The rapid increase in divorce rates is a factor that has contributed to the large decline of the typical family. “Over 1

The cause of behavioral and/or emotional problems among our youth could come from being raised in a single parent home. Many children resort to negative acts of behavior because of limited parental supervision within the single parent household. Children are two to three times more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems in single parent homes (Maginnis, 1997).

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.

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