The New Nuclear Family: Problems & Benefits in Single Parenthood

Additionally, a single parent collects a much smaller income which in turn leads to fewer opportunities for vital necessities such as education. Trying to make ends meet takes away time from the most important thing in a parents life, their children. Children as a result have higher chances of drug or alcohol abuse, higher dropout rates as well as an increased risk of early pregnancy (Amato). There are too many children who are growing up in single parent homes in the United States, resulting in these kids not growing up in an optimal way where they could become influential members of society in the future.

Failure in relationships compels some parents to leave a two-parent household and settle on becoming a sole parent (De Vaus & Qu, 2011). There are those who were simply left behind by their partners, while some become single parents by choice or due to the death of a partner. Parenting issues on limited resources, child care, unemployment, lack of support system, psychological trauma, stress and child rearing difficulties interplay with the well being of the parent and the children (AIHW, 2015). Single mothers are often marginalized leading to relatively lower control over their lives, access to resources and at times even stigmatized. Dependency, poverty, vulnerability and feelings of social exclusion are typical experiences of single parents in social marginalization and economic dislocation (Qu & Weston, 2010). The scarcity of resources and negative impact of the burdens in single parenthood on health can inadvertently result to higher health risks and shorter life span (Talbot & Verrinder,

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)

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

This journal explains that researchers, such as Amato, have several theories that explain why and how children growing up with single parents have an elevated risk of experiencing problems. Some of these problems include cognitive thinking, social interaction and the emotional well-being of the child. Most of the theories discuss economic and parental resources available to children. They also talk about the stressful events and circumstances to which these children must adapt.

In the article, “It’s Better To Be Raised by a Single Mom”, author Pamela Gwyn Kripke states that, “Kids of unmarried parents, according to all of those studies (of rich moms and poor, educated moms and not-so), are supposed to be failures.” If you really take a look at the situation of single parenting, it should be seen that it is not primarily who or how many people are raising the child, but rather how the child is being raised or brought up. If you really think about it, children with two parents in their household can take on the same emotional, social, and behavioral skills just as kids with one parent. Many say that for a child to be fully developed socially and emotionally, that they must be raised by two parents rather than one. In the article, “5 Things To Know About Kids Who Grew Up With Single Parents”, author Bob Alaburda states, “Growing up with loving parents can fill you with positive examples of how to handle relationships when you're older. Even having two parents who hate each others' guts can demonstrate what NOT to do. Either way, it's a learning experience. But children of a single parent are left to gain that experience on their

There are different reasons a person would have to be a single-parent. The four basic categories are divorced, absent spouse, never married, and widowed. The highest percent of single-parent families form of divorce more than any other reason (Presence of Parents). Just like anything else, there are positives and negatives to being a single-parent. Unfortunately as far as statistics, there are far more negatives than positives in single-parenting. The average percentage of children that grow up without a mother between the years 2000 and 2014 in all races is 4.8 percent. The average percentage of children that grow up

The purpose of this article is to argue the fact that American society has for years looked down upon single mothers as irresponsible and dangerous and that no family structure of any kind can guarantee that children will grow up to be productive citizens. The article brings to light that raising children as a single mom really all depends who you are and instead of criticizing these mothers we should be helping them by providing more resources. 2. Who is the audience for this argument? This article was written for several different audiences.

More and more children each year are being raised by single-parents. Majority of people would think single parents would have a tougher time to provide for their family. In most cases this is true, it is a financial struggle to raise children alone. There are exceptions with other single-parenting families that have had enough income to provide for the family. In other cases, the situation is stressful based on income, family support, or lack of either. It is especially more difficult when the mother or father is a teen themselves. In the book it talks about the percentage of children living with one parent is rising to 27.5 percent. Some teenage parents or parent think that by having a child they may provide motivation and purpose for the

Not only is family structure changing across the United States, but in certain states it is much higher. Louisiana has the highest percentage of single-mother led families followed by Mississippi, South Carolina, and Georgia leaving Ohio at eleventh with the most single-mother families (.....). Single-parent families are increasingly common in today’s society. Since more than a decade ago, children are living with a single parent as well as the increase in kids living with a single father. The number of single father families has increased twenty-two percent in just ten years, while the number of married couples raising children has steadily declined through the years. "The American family has been changing for a long time," said Anastasia Snyder, an Ohio State University professor who studies family structure. "This is a trend, and I just don't see it turning around" (.....). As of 2000, the number of married couples with children led the statistics in Ohio with a whopping seventy-one percent but by 2010, the number had a dramatic decrease to just sixty-five percent. Because of the increase in single-parent families, the number of households in Ohio has increased by 3 percent to 4.6 million while the overall population only grew 1.6 percent to 11.5 million residents (.....). Divorce most likely plays a role on these numbers as well but is mostly because of single-parent

Divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing are now epidemic in American society. Both forms of disrupted families are harmful to children and to society. The children of single parents are more likely to do poorly in school, commit crimes, and become single parents themselves. In addition, the increase in single-parent families contributes to such social problems as poverty, crime, and a decline in the quality of public education.

Problem behaviors in single parent homes could be the result of low income within the household. It was reported that 80% of single mother households had incomes of $15,000 of below (Peden, 2004). Loss of economic security can cause many problems in a single parent household. Economic problems may cause a loss of attachment between the parent and the child (Hollist &McBroom, 2006). Poverty has shown to cause poor mental health in single mothers and therefore having a bad influence on children. Poor mental health also had an effect on the mother's ability to perform at work or simply left them unemployed.

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

The issue lies in the distinction of youthful children raised by single parents, verses kids being raised by both their mom and dad. Does the child require the two parents? Does the young man require a father figure around? Does the administration offer help to single parents? What part do step parents and step children play? With much theory, this point has turned uncommonly fascinating What individuals must comprehend is that legitimately bringing up a child does not depend on the structure of a family but should be more focused on the process or values that are taught to these children as they develop. Children that just have one parent can be just as productive with emotional, social and behavioral abilities as those with two guardians.