According to an article written by Jennifer Wolf, the U.S Bureau released a report stating that approximately 13.7 million single parents are in the United States as of 2011. It is common for single parents to receive negative connotation for raising children or multiple children alone. However, most single parents do start out in committed relationships and do not expect to begin parenting their child alone. Referring to that same article, about 82.2% of custodial parents are in fact the women, and the other 17.8% are men. It is most common for the mothers to gain full custody for the children for multiple reasons, each depending on that unique relationship. With being a single parent, comes many misconceptions, automatic assumptions, and
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Many people view a single parent home as a less stable environment for children. It is also believed that the child may not be cared for adequately enough to receive all of their attachment needs due to the lack of attachment from the other parent. Although some of the connotations are true for some cases, it is not always true for others. Some homes became single parent homes due to lack of parental guidance and bad decisions from the other parent. Every case varies, due to humanity and the enormous difference between individuals. Another negative aspect people may have, is the lack of financial support due to only one parent providing within the household. An article posted in the Huffington Post explained how assumptions of education level, age, and income are made about single parents. Dr. Patricia Leavy said “no one can completely take the place of an absent parent. But one person can make a difference in filling a few voids.” She explained that by the time her daughter was two years old, she had her bachelors, masters, and Ph.D., yet people still assumed she was less because she was a single parent. …show more content…
I also asked Scott this question and his answer was simple, “it was no different from me raising children than a woman raising children.” He explained to me that he just loved his little girls. He cooked, cleaned, taught us basic skills, and took care of us just like a mother would. Now for single women, I got the chance to speak with Michelle, a single mother of four children. I asked her the same questions that I asked Scott in hoped that I would find a difference between their experiences. “It was difficult for me because I had to work so much to make ends meet. I didn’t have the security of child support checks from their fathers.” Michelle faced challenges of finding babysitters for her children when she had to work. Her mother and father couldn’t help so she had to search for childcare frequently while trying to find affordable childcare. Her answer to whether nurturing is instinctual, or something learned was “not everybody has parental instincts. Some fathers are better parents than mothers are and vice versa.” In conclusion to this question, it seems that parenting isn’t necessarily instinctual for any sex. In fact, it seems to be learned along the way and rather survival is instinctual and comes across as an aspect of
Many people view a single parent home as a less stable environment for children. It is also believed that the child may not be cared for adequately enough to receive all of their attachment needs due to the lack of attachment from the other parent. Although some of the connotations are true for some cases, it is not always true for others. Some homes became single parent homes due to lack of parental guidance and bad decisions from the other parent. Every case varies, due to humanity and the enormous difference between individuals. Another negative aspect people may have, is the lack of financial support due to only one parent providing within the household. An article posted in the Huffington Post explained how assumptions of education level, age, and income are made about single parents. Dr. Patricia Leavy said “no one can completely take the place of an absent parent. But one person can make a difference in filling a few voids.” She explained that by the time her daughter was two years old, she had her bachelors, masters, and Ph.D., yet people still assumed she was less because she was a single parent. …show more content…
I also asked Scott this question and his answer was simple, “it was no different from me raising children than a woman raising children.” He explained to me that he just loved his little girls. He cooked, cleaned, taught us basic skills, and took care of us just like a mother would. Now for single women, I got the chance to speak with Michelle, a single mother of four children. I asked her the same questions that I asked Scott in hoped that I would find a difference between their experiences. “It was difficult for me because I had to work so much to make ends meet. I didn’t have the security of child support checks from their fathers.” Michelle faced challenges of finding babysitters for her children when she had to work. Her mother and father couldn’t help so she had to search for childcare frequently while trying to find affordable childcare. Her answer to whether nurturing is instinctual, or something learned was “not everybody has parental instincts. Some fathers are better parents than mothers are and vice versa.” In conclusion to this question, it seems that parenting isn’t necessarily instinctual for any sex. In fact, it seems to be learned along the way and rather survival is instinctual and comes across as an aspect of