What does it mean to be a single parent? Many have his or her own opinion about what it means to be a single parent, but being a single parent means that it is now the job of one parent to be both mother and father to their children. Many debate on how children in single parent homes are affected. Some believe that children in single parent households are more at risk than children in a two parent households, but that outcome may vary depending on many different situations.
For the past twenty years single-parent families have become more common than the nuclear family that normally consist of a mother, father, and children. Now there are households headed by a single mother or a single father or sometimes other relatives. One leading cause of single parent households are unintended pregnancies. Unintended pregnancies make up almost thirty-seven percent of births in the United States.
Doctors say whether a baby is planned or not has important consequences for the health of the mother and the child. Mothers who have unplanned pregnancies are more likely to get little to no prenatal care, smoke cigarettes during their pregnancy and to decline to breastfeed, a practice known to have health benefits for mother and baby. Unintended babies also tend to have lower birth weight.
These unintended pregnancies especially in teens can lead to the father leaving and deciding not to be a part of the child’s life.
The popularity of marriage has fallen as the proportion of single women aged eighteen to forty-nine who have never married has doubled. The proportion of women of the same age who live with a partner, but are not married, has tripled from just 11 per cent to 34 per cent.
The U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, ...
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...nt situations and may not all share the qualities pointed out by the research.
Works Cited
https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/single-parent.aspx http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/382706/Rise-of-the-single-parent-family http://thefatherlessgeneration.wordpress.com/statistics/ http://www.all4women.co.za/lifestyle/parenting/the-pros-and-cons-of-single-parenting http://thegoodnewsplus.com/content/pros-and-cons-being-single-parent http://www.supernanny.co.uk/Advice/-/Parenting-Skills/-/Discipline-and-Reward/How-to-cope-as-a-single-parent-~-tips-to-help-you-along-the-way.aspx http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/01/children-of-divorce_n_3529920.html http://abcnews.go.com/Health/cdc-40-percent-us-births-unintended/story?id=16840288 http://abcnews.go.com/Health/cdc-40-percent-us-births-unintended/story?id=16840288&page=2
http://www.chums.uk.com/how-loss-can-affect-children/
Single parent families are very common this day and age. The single parent percentage in America is rising, in all racial groups. Children of a single mother or father family tend to have more difficulties and more of a negative effect developing and growing up. The bad effects of children with single parents typically have more behavior issues, emotional stress, and difficulties in school.
Unintentional pregnancies statistically bring a host of economic, emotional, and physical ills to mother and baby. About half of the unintended pregnancies in Washington State are aborted, according to the state Department of Health. That rate is consistent with the rest of the US. Even though there is a demand for abortion providers, man...
After a teen gets pregnant they start thinking of a way to hide it from their parents,The big problems start then. Many reasons teens think of are suicide, abortion and many other reasons. Abortions are becoming more frequent due to the ignorance and intolerance of certain societies around the world. This leads to the death of many teenage mothers as well as their children. There a lot of things that can cause an unplanned teen pregnancy, such as teens experimenting with sexual encounters at a young age. Another reason is the lack of guidance due to parents that do not take care of their children. For some, these pregnancies are planned but 85% of these teens pregnancy is unplanned (Website Title: Teen Ink,Article Title: Teenage Pregnancy,Date Accessed: April 03, 2014).
Being a parent is very demanding and can be hard. The difficulties that come with an unplanned pregnancy in teens can have a profound effect on their life. Their physical, social, mental, and emotional health will all be affected by a sudden change in the course of their life. Teens impacted with an unplanned pregnancy will have to give up many things in order to be a parent. In addition, they will have to take on many more responsibilities that accompany pregnancy and parenthood. All in all, having an unplanned pregnancy and becoming a parent introduce many new responsibilities and difficulties.
...ou will be as equally as surprised to find out that some of these kids in the classroom were never able to graduate due to imminent problems in the household and psychological development leading to mental trauma. A census study shows that most single parent kids will start working at 15 to aid the parent in paying for essentials. Although the odds are tough for single parents and children, you must never forget the strong parents who do undergo the challenge with effectiveness and stability. And of course, you must not forget the child who stood by their single parent and developed strength and character to help the family overcome any obstacle. Single parenthood is a fascinating concept which breeds heroes and well-built people who were able to conquer the impediment thrown at them. But, remember that some of these people weren't able to make it past as well.
Single parenting numbers increase each year. In America there is almost fourteen million single parents raising about thirty-two million children, twenty six percent are under twenty one years of age. Eighty-two percent of single parents are mothers and about eighteen percent are fathers (“Single Parent Statistics-Average Single Parent Statistics”).There are a lot of stereo types about single parents, most of which are untrue, but some can be true also. Single parenting is becoming more common in this generation, and it’s not just because of one reason. There are many reasons these days that there are single parents.
What is a single parent? Is it one who destroys their child’s life? Is it one who ultimately cannot raise a minor on their own? Or is it one who dedicates their lives to the well being of their kid? Imagine a parent, and for whatever reason they were left alone to raise a child. That parent you imagined has to work long hours just to put a meal on the table. That parent has to play the role of the mother and father. That parent has no financial support. Unfortunately, in our society, this image of a single parent is looked down upon. There are people that don’t realize how much a single parent goes through to give their child a better life.
The Family structure has changed significantly in the last fifty years. With higher percentages of marriage ending in divorce, and higher rates of childbearing out of wedlock, single parent families are increasing rapidly. “Seventy percent of all the children will spend all or part of their lives in a single-parent household.” (Dowd) Studies have shown that the children of these families are affected dramatically, both negatively and positively. Women head the majority of single- parent families and as a result, children experience many social problems from growing up without a father. Some of these problems include lack of financial support, and various emotional problems by not having a father around, which may contribute to problems later in life. At the same time, children of single-parent homes become more independent because they learn to take care of themselves, and rely on others to do things for them.
A single parent household is a house with only one parent and one or multiple children. Single parent households are becoming very common in all racial and ethnic groups because it is no longer required for people to be married before they have children. Most households only have one parent because of divorce, never being married, separated, widowed, or because of business. The most common are, separation, divorce and just simply never being married. In these cases it is usually the mother who is the single parent. It is not too often that you see a father taking care of their child by themselves. This is usually because they do not know how, or they simply do not want to take care of their child. Statistics show that family structure has a big impact on certain characteristics of a child such as their attitude and level of respect. Children tend to be less respectful to people because they do not respect the parent who is not around. In many cases a child may become depressed living with only one parent causing them to get out of control and do things that they shouldn’t. Sometimes the child may feel like they are incomplete leaving them to do crazy things to find what they feel like they are missing. often times the child feels that they are the reason their parents are not together.
...ent to be able to nurture up a child in the right way by being a single parent. If the parent can build a strong foundation for the child, then consider that parent to be special and blessed because single parenting is not a walk in the park.
According to Webster’s dictionary, the definition of Single is “it means unmarried; of or relating to celibacy; unaccompanied by others. '
One of the hardest issues to survive in, as a single parent, is an overwhelming emotion that you should complete the role of both mother and father. This feeling evolves and will be more intense if the other single parent is not portraying a role that is active with the children.
One major effect of teen pregnancy is that the child may be raised by a single parent. While most girls are looking for love and acceptance in sex, many guys are looking for the mere pleasure and are not planning on becoming a teen father. The pressures of high school and hanging out with friends may be overwhelming for some teens, so they just leave. Raising a child as teen is difficult, but raising a child alone would be almost impossible.
The sudden socioeconomic transformation of the last century has substantially affected the tradition of marriage in modern society. Therefore, several alternatives to marriage have become available and grown to be more popular than marriage for today’s couples due to its suitability to current conditions. Some of these alternative statuses to marriage are cohabitation, divorce, or simply continuing to be single and this claim is supported through the findings of a recent study. The percentage of adults who are married has notably decreased from 1960 to 2008 by twenty percent (Pew Research Center). These statistics will not improve any time soon as “the average age at which men and women first marry is now the highest ever recorded” (Pew Research Center). These statistics may seem that society has lost a valuable part of life and the significance of two partners becoming one. However, from another perspective, it is a positive change in society where one or both partners do not lose their individuality and are equal, and are more accepting of other relationship choices.
Poverty and lack of academic success contribute, there is mounting evidence that poor academic success and bad parenting lead to teen pregnancy. Babies from teen mothers usually have poor health, lower grades, and have lower cognitive tests scores (Witte 137-54). The majority of children from an unplanned pregnancy are born to unmarried women. Children raised in single parent families face more challenges; they are more likely to be poor, dropout, lower grade point average, and poor school attendance records (Brown 11-4).