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My Top 3 |
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by Jane Bear
Approximately 20-30% of children live in single parent homes since roughly 1970. However, the number varies from study to study and country to country. In the United States, being brought up by a single parent is not uncommon; studies showed that about three in ten children live in a single parent home.
Single parenting can be the result of a voluntary decision, such as those women who choose to have a child by artificial insemination and those unmarried persons who adopt children. Women who become pregnant outside of marriage, or those parents who are widowed, divorced, or simply deserted by their spouses are all single parents.
More of single parent homes are female than male. The reason for this is that mothers are the one who gave birth to the child, so the mother and child have a stronger connection than with the fathers. But whatever the sex of the parent, parenting alone raises some unique challenges.
Single mothers have more difficult time providing for their families because women generally have lower paying jobs than men. Even if this is the case, they are more likely to nurture their children by telling them they love them, hugging them, and showing affection towards them.
The fathers are often thought of as the one who brings home the money and not much else. In single parenting, the father must do a little bit of everything and take the place of a missing mom in the household. Men tend to have higher positions in the work force, so single dads do not run into the economic issues that single moms do.
Being a single parent can be very challenging, not only do you have to play the roles of both parents, but you’re financially responsible for a set of bills that are usually paid by two incomes. Children of single parents are very likely to share more household responsibilities, including looking after themselves and their siblings, if ever they have one. Single parents often discuss financial or family matters with their children, which, in other families, are usually discussed only between parents. This can make the children from single parent families particularly independent, mature, resourceful, and responsible as compared to their peers.
However, many single parents find themselves feeling isolated at one point or another. Dating and hanging out with friends must take a back seat since time must be devoted to the child or children. Single parents don’t really relate to singles without children because single parents have an entirely different set of priorities and responsibilities.
Single parenting provides a unique opportunity for a mother or father to influence the development of their children without the hindrance that having a partner can often bring. It is said that if a child has one stable parent in their lives that they can depend on, they will be ok, and you can be that person for your child.
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