“Fewer than half of children under 18 are living with both their mother and father” (Livingston). I was sadly part of that statistic. My mother and father have been separated ever since I can remember. I am an only child and I lived with solely my mother for most of my childhood. My father was a carpenter who was desperate to find work. He moved to Florida to find construction work after hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. I was only seven years old. My memorable years of childhood were just beginning when he left. My father was not able to be there during these years. Therefore most of my childhood memories do not include my father. I grew up relying mostly on my mother and my grandparents. I remember many of my friends did not live with both their
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My mother was always busy with work and other responsibilities. She would temporarily make me happy by buying me the newest barbie doll, instead of talking to me about my father. I understood from a young age that it is harder being a single parent. It is ideal to have both parents in a household. A single parent loves their child just as much, but simply does not have as much time to focus on the children. In a dual parent household, parents would be able to split responsibilities and spend more quality time with their children. A child who does not have both parents in their lives can easily struggle with not understanding the situation they are placed into. They may question why they live the way they do and other children do not. They may not feel loved by the other parent or feel that they were abandoned by them. These children may be more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression. It is hard to try and understand why exactly a parent would not be in their child’s life. In my case, my father was put in a tough situation of needing money to provide for me. From my experience, having two parental figures has a greater impact on a child than only one. It is important for a child to have both a mother and father figure; whether it be a grandparent, stepparent, aunt or
My mother was always busy with work and other responsibilities. She would temporarily make me happy by buying me the newest barbie doll, instead of talking to me about my father. I understood from a young age that it is harder being a single parent. It is ideal to have both parents in a household. A single parent loves their child just as much, but simply does not have as much time to focus on the children. In a dual parent household, parents would be able to split responsibilities and spend more quality time with their children. A child who does not have both parents in their lives can easily struggle with not understanding the situation they are placed into. They may question why they live the way they do and other children do not. They may not feel loved by the other parent or feel that they were abandoned by them. These children may be more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression. It is hard to try and understand why exactly a parent would not be in their child’s life. In my case, my father was put in a tough situation of needing money to provide for me. From my experience, having two parental figures has a greater impact on a child than only one. It is important for a child to have both a mother and father figure; whether it be a grandparent, stepparent, aunt or