Single Parent Households Free Essays

Raising children is a major job that takes time and patience. But imagine being a single parent, raising a child on your own. According to, Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support: 2007, released by the U. We will write a custom essay sample on Single Parent Households or any similar topic only for you Order Now S. Census Bureau in November 2009, there are approximately 13. 7 million single parents in the United States today ( that’s not including the individuals who didn’t participate). Those parents are responsible for raising 21. 8 million children (approximately 26% of children under 21 in the U. S. today). Generally, I will illustrate the picture of the single-family and their corresponding struggles with daily life. Approximately 84% of custodial parents are mothers and 16% of custodial parents are fathers. Economic burdens are greater in the women household which results from the fact that the average single mother does not earn the same income as a single man. This economic struggle is not experienced in the single father household due to the balance of work and family duties women face. You find most women working overtime to make up for the fact they have low salaries which takes time away from their children and daily chores to meet the needs of their kids. This results in either the child being left home alone without proper supervision, or placed in childcare eight to ten hours a day. Having trusted friends and family that can assist with childcare or transportation is a great asset when it comes to being a single parent. It is also the terrible price that parents pay to provide for their children when they have to work during those memorable moments of childhood. In addition, single parents struggle with time not only for their children but for themselves. In two parent households they struggle with managing time, so when the all the responsibility is solely on a single parent, the struggle can be suffocating. When you are working, going to school and caring for your child, you can find the task a little bit exhausting. While each task seem just as important as the next, a child needs can’t be negotiated, which from experience I know it may get the best of your emotions. Losing sleep to make financial needs meet or studying may bring your mental and physical tolerance to a minimum. Stress, malnutrition, physical abuse and sleep deprivation sound like torture, but it’s the situation that most single parent face every day. Last but not least, the average single parent pushes forward to achieve their personal goals or careers because that’s all they have to call their own. When achieving the balance of sacrifice and success that provides the best outcome for that child and its parent, can be a difficult path for anyone. This path challenges one decision and pushes the single parent to and emotional breakdown, which causes them to question, what may be best for not only them but the child. It’s a barrier that single parents face every day because their goals and careers take a back seat to the birth of their child. When that child is born, that child life is beginning and all your goals may be pushed off which makes them at times less important as before. In conclusion, single parent households have overcoming barriers that make all the struggles and sacrifices worth it at the end. Despite the challenges and emotional highs and lows, the creation of a responsible human being is always worth the trouble. At the end, the bond between that parent and child will be inseparable because that child will never forget all the sacrifices and hard work you have put forth to make their life that much easier. I don’t think society see the struggles many single parent households face daily. If we would help these parents out more than our society wouldn’t have to continuously point the finger to the boy who murdered and raped a young girl because he was a part of the single parent household statistic. So you wonder am I for or against the single parent household and my response to that is I have no choice, I live it every day. Everything I wrote was my lifestyle since I had my two year old son but never in a million years will I change it. How to cite Single Parent Households, Papers Single Parent Households Free Essays Single Parent Households A Single parent is a person not living with a spouse or a partner who has all the day-to-day responsibilities of a child or children. Single parent households are common in every generation. In the past, being a single parent was no struggle at all, because things were not as expensive or as hard. We will write a custom essay sample on Single Parent Households or any similar topic only for you Order Now In the 21st century, single parent households have their share of daily struggles and disadvantages. The issues of expensive foods, daycares, and clothes, limited time spent with child, balance of work and home duties, and also economic struggles are along the endless problems single parent households have. Single parent households in the Caribbean can be caused by many factors. One caused of single parent households is unexpected circumstances. These unexpected circumstances can be death, divorce, or rape. Historically death is one broad cause of a single parent households. Diseases like cancer, diabetes, dengue and a lot more can be the result in the death of a spouse which leaves the other partner to take care of the child themselves. Also murder can be a result in death of a spouse which leaves the next partner heart broken, and the responsibility of taking care of a child alone. Divorce with battle of custody is another broad cause of single parent households. Persons getting divorce and have kids in most cases have a battle of which parent is taking the responsibility of the kids. In some cases the mother gets all the responsibility of making all decisions, and who the child lives with. Sometimes in these divorce battles the next partner has no rights at all of the child. Rape is another cause of single parent households. A person being rape can get pregnant, and this person may not believe in killing Gods precious gift to woman, although it was given in way no man would never want it to happen. So in this happening, the person becomes a single mother taking responsibilities which were not planned for. Another cause of single parent households is planned circumstances. These involve the act of adoption, arrange pregnancy and family tradition. Adoption is the main and most common cause of single parent households. A person may not be married, or have a partner but want a child so badly that they plan on adopting one and be a single parent. Also, along with being single this person may not be able to get any kids, so adoption is the best option. Arranged pregnancy is not a common cause of single parent households but it does occur in some cases. A woman can arrange with a man to get her pregnant, but he would not have rights, or involvement in the child’s life. Also in other cases persons go to the sperm bank to get a sperm donor which they would not have to worry about attachments or battles between people for custody of a child. Another cause but not a very broad one is family tradition. Persons growing up seeing their mother, grandmother, aunts and even uncles taking care of their children on their own. A person may want to follow in their families’ footsteps because they did a good job taking care of the kids their selves. Single parent households can be also caused by unintended accidents between partners. Unplanned pregnancy, Incompatibility between partners, and father getting a better way of living are all called unintended accidents. Unplanned pregnancy is the ultimate cause of single parent households. Getting pregnant and not planning for it can be a big problem for mostly the father, because he may not want kids. Being surprise with such news can be very upsetting knowing that the person do not want that big responsibility, and can result in the father leaving not wanting nothing to do with the child when it is born. Incompatibility between partners is a cause you find mainly now. A Father maybe abusive towards a mother and a child. The mother had enough of his abusive ways, and decide its time she take her child and disappeared taking all the responsibilities of rising the child alone without the abusive father being there. Along with what was stated the father may not be abusive towards the mother, or the child but it seem that they cannot be in the same room with one other without biting off each other’s ears. Their always at it with each other, so this may result in, both, father leaving, or mother taking child and leaving. Lastly, another cause is a father may get a job offer which maybe in another city. This can result in he taking the job offer, and leaving without looking back knowing he has a child. Leaving the mother with all responsibilities and financial difficulties. Unfortunately, there will always be single parent households in the Caribbean. There is no way to stop single parent households but there are ways to help single parents to succeed in parenting their kid or kids. For a single parent and child to reach the level of success they would have to reach the level of stability. Single parent should learn how to manage their money and time, and this would help them to reach stability and everything else would fall in place. Reaching this stability it enables the child to enjoy loving relationships, have peace and security, and it also enables the child to grow into a healthy, responsible adult. How to cite Single Parent Households, Essay examples