Children growing up in the United States come from different homes yet, all experience and understand the meaning of family. Some children grow up with in single parent family, or with a mother and father. Family is a big part of their lives and beliefs. Researchers bring forth evidences, that being brought up by one parent can physically and mentally destroy a child’s future. Growing up in any type of family can affect a child’s life emotionally, physically, and socially. Children can still be successful in life regardless of being raise by either a single or joint family. Success is not determine by who raise a child, but determine by what the child wants to become in life. Do researchers have a valid point with who raises a child can determine their success in life? Even though the odds are against children from single parent homes being successful children still can succeed. In Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” she tells a story of a single mom who raises two daughters and the mother has to play a role of both mother and father. In the story “Mama” is describe as a strong loving mother to daughters Dee and Maggie. She rejects a traditional gender role when she works to raise and provide for her daughters; instead she takes on an alternative masculine role. “Mama” is proud of her hardy nature and ability to butcher hogs and milk cows. Maggie is the youngest in the story describe as a nervous disturb young lady, and is severely burned in a house fire as a child. Maggie lives at home and is protected by her Mama from the outside world, but this only is making her a victim of shelter. As a result, she suffers from a crippling shyness and lack of education. Maggie’s relationship with her older sister Dee is common with sisters like... ... middle of paper ... ...national Journal of Eating Disorders 42.2 (2009): 153-157. Academic Search Premier. Guttmann, Joseph, and Michal Rosenberg. "Emotional Intimacy and Children's Adjustment: A Comparison Between Single-Parent Divorced and Intact Families." Educational Psychology 23.4 (2003): 457. Professional Development Collection. Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Backpack literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry, and drama. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006. Print. Pike, Lisbeth T. "Effects of Parent Residency Arrangements on the Development of Primary School-Aged Children." Family Matters 57 (2000): 40. MasterFILE Premier. Rozumah, Baharudin, Chi Yee Hong, Sin Jing Lim, and Zulkefly Nor Sheereen. "Educational Goals, Parenting Practices and Adolescents' Academic Achievement." Asian Social Science 6 (2010): 144-152. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Apr. 2011.
Boyle, T. Coraghessan. "Greasy Lake." X. J. Kennedy, Dana Gioia. Backpack Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. Joe Terry. Pearson, 2012. Text. 28 January 2014.
Packer, ZZ. “Brownies.” Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 4th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2006. 177-94. Print.
O'Brien, Tim. "The Things They Carried." X. J. Kennedy, Dana Gioia. Backpack Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. Joe Terry. Pearson, 2012. Print. 10 Feb. 2014.
Packer, ZZ. “Brownies.” Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 4th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2006. 177-94. Print.
Over the past decades, the patterns of family structure have changed dramatically in the United States. The typical nuclear family, two married parents with children living together in one household, is no longer the structure of the majority of the families today. The percentage of single-parent families, step-families and adopted families has increased significantly over the years. The nuclear family is a thing of the past. Family situations have tremendous influence upon a child’s academic achievement, behavior and social growth.
Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. 4th ed. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Boston: Pearson, 2006. 69-76. Print.
Kennedy, X.J., and Dana Gioia. Backpack Literature. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2012. 762-875. Print.
Unmarried heterosexual cohabitation has increased sharply in the recent years in the United States. It has in fact become so prevalent that the majority of marriages and remarriages now begin as cohabiting relationships, and most young men and women cohabit at some point in their lives. It has become quite clear that understanding and incorporating cohabitation into sociological analyses and thinking, is crucial for evaluating family patterns, people’s lifestyles, children’s wellbeing and social changes more broadly. This essay presents some common explanation for cohabitation’s dramatic rise and identifies some analytic questions as to how cohabitation is increasingly a major barrier in the marital stability in the United States.
Lee, Edward Bok El Santo Americano. Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing 4th Ed.
Kennedy, X. J., and Dana Gioia. Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2012. Print.
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 implications in midwifery by applying the sociological imagination. Mills (2000/1959) describes the sociological imagination as “…a quality of mind that seems most dramatically to promise an understanding of the intimate realities of ourselves in connection with larger social realities” (pp.15). In other words, the sociological imagination involves the ability to consider the relationships between personal experiences and those within society as a whole.
The American society has lived with the European American middle-class family structure that has created different living expectations. The European American middle-class family structure has led people to become judgmental and alienated to reality when referring to the family. The ideal European American meaning of family structure is based on the white people. The definition of the ideal family is a couple who live together with their children; only one individual is the head of authority. It is impossible for everyone in the United States to have the same living circumstances as the idealized white people. When America adopted this ideal family structure it became a problem in our social world creating. This created barriers that eventually
My motivation to research, discover, and stimulate social change is rooted in my childhood experiences. As a young child I grew up in a household filled with domestic violence, which ultimately ended with the suicide of my father. I subsequently came to know a variation of the typical American nuclear family: a single parent household. As I began to study family dynamics further, I was able to see my life experiences in a broader context. In hindsight, I now realize the impact and weight my own mother had on my personal development. It was through her strength, determination, and optimism that I was able to find the spark within myself to set goals and dreams for my future. She encouraged me never to accept anything at face value, including the way our society attempts to define my womanhood. As a result of this, I now question American culture’s classification of a ‘successful’ family and the factors that determine a ‘stable’ family.
3. Single Parents’ Kids Do as well in School As Those in Two-Parent Homes: Infotrac.. October 25, 1999.Online. .
For many years, children growing up in a single parent family have been viewed as different. Being raised by only one parent seems impossible to many yet over the decades it has become more prevalent. In today’s society many children have grown up to become emotionally stable and successful whether they had one or two parents to show them the rocky path that life bestows upon all human beings. The problem lies in the difference of children raised by single parents versus children raised by both a mother and a father. Does a child need both parents? Does a young boy need a father figure around? Does the government provide help for single parents? What role do step-parents and step-siblings play? With much speculation, this topic has become a very intriguing argument. What people must understand is that properly raising a child does not rely on the structure of a family but should be more focused on the process