In the situation of a single parent woman it would be difficult if not impossible for this parent to financially provide for herself and child on a minimum wages. The major components of their survival would be to meet the essential needs of providing shelter, food, clothing, and health insurance. If the parent is working a day job there would be the need for an afterschool program or the child staying with family. If the parent had a 2nd or 3rd shift she would also need to set up alternative care for the child. This parent would need a strong network of family and friends to overcome the obstacles she might face. A single parent would have to decide what the best mode of transportation is whether it is public transportation or a used vehicle with no car payments. She could opt to take public transportation it would cost $48.00 monthly. If the child is ill and needs to see a doctor and be taken out of school public transportation would not be a workable plan because of the travel time needed. In the case that one gets ill this would take her away from her employment and might even sacrifice her secured position. This person would have to acquire a used vehicle with no car payment and keep up with the mechanical service and repairs which could cost anywhere from $500-$1,000 yearly and car insurance which could run from $700 - $1,000 yearly. In some cases, with a child that is ten-years old a parent may choose to have the child come home and be alone after school. This is considered a “latch key kid” where the child will stay home alone until the parent gets home. There are some parents that don’t have any other choices but to leave the child alone. Children growing up in this era are given much more responsibility at too early o... ... middle of paper ... ... strategies a single parent will come up with could benefit the family or put them in a mountain of debt. I have seen the food prices soar over the years but our pay never seem to catch up to the true cost of living. The state of the economy is especially hurting the people with a low income because they are most vulnerable to higher costs. In Worcester, MA the only option a single parent would have to living on their own on minimum wage is to get services in place such as housing, Mass Health, food stamps and also can go to a food pantry to supplement the food allotment. It’s imperative to have a plan before you set out and make major changes in your life. Even if there was a roommate involved it would be difficult to sustain the standard of living. Even in the best case of making it on minimum wage this person would also still need a strong network for support.
Often, childcare costs may exceed low-wage earners ' income, making work, especially in a job with no potential for advancement, an economically illogical activity. In 30 Days one of Morgan’s co-worker had four kids, whereas he had none, and he is supporting them on the same minimum wage. However, some single parents are able to rely on their social networks to provide free or below-market-cost childcare. There are also some free childcare options provided by the government, such as the Head Start Program. However, low-wage jobs force workers to accept irregular schedules for these free options, only which are available during certain hours, which can limit parents ' ability to take jobs that require late-night shifts. In which in this situation, it causes it to be even more difficult for a single low wage parent to receive free childcare. In fact, some employers will not hire someone unless they have "open availability," which means being available to work any time, any day. This makes it difficult for workers to arrange for childcare and to take on a second job. In addition, minimum-wage workers, working hours may fluctuate wildly from one week to the next, making it difficult for them to budget effectively and save up
financially. In a world where prices keep inflating and wages are being cut, single mothers have become
family, and extra child to feed and give an education so could be abandoned or
Talcott Parsons and Robert Bales, two of the leading figures in sociology, may be considered the founding fathers for the ideas of the “modern family” and the “male-breadwinner family.” Collectively, their work has influenced how Americans analyze families and has sparked new ideas regarding the American family from sociologists such as Stephanie Coontz and Arlie Hochschild. However, when studying the American family, Parsons and Bales fail to understand that the “ideal” family may not be so ideal for everyone. They neglect to consider societal influences and economic changes when discussing patriarchal social norms as the most optimal family structure. Their description of the male-breadwinner family consists of the father being the “instrumental leader” within the home, providing economically for his family based on his occupational earnings. Meanwhile, the mother is considered the manager of the household, providing for her husband and children physically, emotionally, and mentally.
For the past year I have watched my younger sister struggle to support herself and her now 11 month old baby. She makes more than minimum wage. She has struggled to the point where she was evicted and now lives with me. I have also experienced struggling on low pay. When I was 18 I was kicked out of my family’s house, and I was only making $8 an hour. There were days where I had to choose between paying rent and getting my electricity shut off, just because I couldn’t work enough hours to pay all of my bills. It can be very scary to only make minimum wage and have to support yourself. There are changes that need to be made so that every person can live properly with any job.
single mother was tough for her. She struggled day to day just to have dinner on the table for us every night. After many years of struggling my mom finally acquired a good, well paying job. My mom was now making about $11 an hour. This is still less than what the Economic Policy Institut...
McLoyd, V. C., & Wilson, L. (1992). Telling them like it is: The role of economic and environmental factors in single mothers? discussions with their children. American Journal of Community Psychology, 20, 419-444.
Children and families have various issues that must be addressed when they are in facing difficulties. The family dynamic offers multiple perceptions and needs, these may require addressing matters individually as well as on a group level. There may be matters such as domestic violence or substance abuse which requires both individual and family counseling and resources. In times of crisis families need education and coping strategies in order to regain their lives back. The necessities of the family may entail emotional and medical support requirements depending on their situation. When there is a possible case involving violence the focus may turn to more than medical and emotional support and possible removal of the children from the home may be required. Single mothers’ needs may be comprised of employment, education, shelter, food, child care and assistance with medical and child support. In some cases counseling and a support resource may be all that is required. When a divorce occurs, the needs which were once met by a two parent family now rest on the shoulders of ...
Social problem is a broad topic, there is “No conclusive idea of what constitutes a social problem.” To define a social problem, there are generally three different ideas to define a social problem, “Something that impacts a large group; Something that the people in a society collective agree it is problematic; Something that violates a moral code.” (Logan) Healthcare has been on the spot light, because of The American Health Care Act. I’d like to present health care in United States as a social problem, because it qualify the three ideas to define social problem. First of all, it impacts a large group in the society, because of its cost. According to CDC, “28.2 million people who are under age of sixty five are insured” (CDC). Second, people in a society collective
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.
28% of kids in America lived with one parent in 2013 (“Single Parenthood”). Adolescents in these homes have a higher chance of showing behavior issues, being in poverty, and having a lack of food (Link). They are also more likely to take drugs, have sex earlier than their peers, and be abused (Lauer, 2012). Though, it should be well-noted that these are extreme cases that do not apply to many single-parent kids. Personally, I cannot relate to the severe challenges of other children in my situation, but through my mom, I can relate to the challenges of single parents. She has had the hard luck of raising me on her own for eighteen years without child support, and I have seen her suffer through the three kinds of overload, sometimes all at once. Due to her willingness to be strong, we persevered through our harsh times, and I hope to someday repay her back for all she has given
The reduced earnings of women have an impact on 7.4 million households run by single working women. Over two point one million families consisting of working single mothers were considered poor. An added two point four million working single mothers were severely struggling to barely make ends meet. They were falling between 100 and 200 pe...
One problem every single parent has is their financial situation. Single parents usually have a difficult time in supporting their child in every way financially. Divorced parents usually hav...
All of us want money all of us need money but little of us have it. Single parents are no exception. They are the ones that struggle with money issues the most. They need money to help raise their child and to provide food for their family without money these things are not possible. Without money you are limited to the things you can do. You can’t provide clothes, food, shelter, gas, house bills. Money helps a lot for a single parent, but is really difficult. For one single adult to make enough money to provide, it is very difficult for a single parent to come up with the same amount of money that two parents get. This can cause a lot of stress for the parent and make the household a very fragile place to live. There could be a lot of tension in the house, it could cause fights, arguments, physical abuse. These are all scenarios of living in a single parent household. When sometimes it is not the characters of the family members that cause these problems but the stress and money that accumulate
...er burden for single mothers. The problem is exacerbated by concentrated levels of single-parent households in low-income areas, less parental involvement in education, and low levels of social capital. Many poor families rely on welfare for subsistence, which in some ways, enable males to shirk responsibilities while undermining the provider role. Policies that will help a large number of families to escape poverty will focus on providing education and training to parents as well as programs that promote egalitarian gender and parenting roles. The root of gender inequality can be seen at the family level through each structural level of society. Our goal as a society should be to create equality of opportunity to pursue a happy, fulfilling life. True equality exists in the fail and equal distribution of responsibilities to families at the most basic parental level