Single Family
Parenting
The traditional or nuclear family
composed of a mother, father, and children is becoming less common today as we
make way for the ever growing single parent family. A single parent family can
be a mother and children, a father and children, grandparent(s) and
grandchildren, a family member and children, or a friend or guardian and
children. With marriage below 50%, single parent families are growing in
numbers. According to an article in the New
York Times:
“Married couples have dropped
below half of all American households for the first time, the Census Bureau
says, a milestone in the evolution of the American family toward less
traditional forms. Married couples represented just 48 percent of American
households in 2010, according to data being made public Thursday and analyzed
by the Brookings Institution. This was slightly less than in 2000, but far
below the 78 percent of households occupied by married couples in 1950. What is
more, just a fifth of households were traditional families — married couples
with children — down from about a quarter a decade ago, and from 43 percent in
1950, as the iconic image of the American family continues to break apart. In
recent history, the marriage rate among Americans was at its highest in the
1950s, when the institution defined gender roles, family life and a person’s
place in society. But as women moved into the work force, cohabitation lost its
taboo label, and as society grew more secular, marriage lost some of its
central authority” (Tavernise).
Single parents and caregivers face
challenges heading a family alone. Regardless of the reason a person may be
heading a single parent family; there are stressful factors that can impact the
family unit.
Some things that may affect a single
parent family are:
· “Visitation and custody problems.
·
The effects of continuing conflict
between the parents.
·
Less opportunity for parents and
children to spend time together.
·
Effects of the breakup on children's
school performance and peer relations.
·
Disruptions of extended family
relationships.
· Problems
caused by single parents' dating and entering new relationships” (American Psychological Association).
Impact Single
Parenting has on Children
“Over one-fourth of children in the
United States lived with a single parent in 1996, double the proportion in
1970.
· Approximately
84 percent of these families are headed by women. Of all single-parent families
· The
most common are those headed by divorced or separated mothers (58%) followed by
never-married mothers (24%)
· Other
family heads include widows (7%)
· Divorced
and separated fathers (8.4%)
· Never-married
fathers (1.5%)
· Widowers
(0.9%).
There is racial variation in the
proportion of families headed by a single parent:
· 22
percent for White
· 57
percent for Black
Statistically, children raised in a
single parent household face more difficult challenges. They are more likely
to:
· “Experience violence
· Commit
suicide (63%)
· Continue
the poverty cycle
· Become
drug/chemical dependent (75%)
· Commit
a crime
· Educationally
perform below peers
· Become
incarcerated (more than half)
Even though these statistics may
seem grim, not all children from single family households face these types of
problems. Children from single parent households can experience success.
· “For one thing, children from a single parent home headed by a mother
only can experience a close, loving, and trusting relationship as a result of
the time spent together
· Single
working moms can be a great influence on their children and instill a great
work ethic
· Children
from single parent households can develop closer relationships with extended
families members, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparent(s)
· Children
from single parent households can learn from adversity”. Healthy Children--American Academy of Pediatrics
Regardless of a home rather it be a
traditional family or a single parent family, children will do well and prevail
if they come from a loving home.
Post by JT -- Comments Welcomed.
No comments:
Post a Comment