Single Parent or Two Parent Household Essay

Parenthood is an all-time significant part of a child. It is often believed that children who grow under the care of both parents develop better compared to children a single parent family. Essential aspects of growth such as mental health require combined efforts between both parents to grow adequately. Single parenthood arrangement is rewarding, but it can also be a wearisome process especially during the first years of development. It is important to note that unlike two-parent families, single mothers or fathers are not always in control of many aspects of their families' lives because of a variety of issues such as unemployment, gender imbalances from the society and inability to identify problems that children are not able to discuss openly. As a result, this paper seeks to critique single parenthood and also highlight its adverse effects on children and the society both socially and economically.

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I was brought up in a family of two parents, and this helped in ensuring that I felt a sense of security, and unlike one of my classmates who only had a mother, I could go to school without school fees issues and had new clothes during every Christmas. Over time, the marriage institution has been eroded by the dynamism of the society's perspective of general social values. Imperatively, the virtues that guide marriage and family continue to diminish in importance. Things get worse in times of financial constraints or unemployment because taking care of even one child becomes a challenge. As a result, there are many divorced people, legal separations and sheer lack of individual responsibility. Research reveals that nearly 95% of children born in the 1960s had both parents. However, 40% children in the present times are born to single parents (Guner & Knowles, 2009). In these families, often children have limited access to resources because only one parent provides care of every responsibility. According to research the US Census, single-parent families had a poverty rate of 37.1% in 2009 as opposed to 6.8% for the two-parent families.

Additionally, families with both parents facilitate the healthy mental development of children as opposed to children from single-parent families. In a study to find the psychological effects of children raised by single parents, it was discovered that the rate of cognitive development skills in children raised by both mother and father (Green & Schaefer, 1985). Further, it was found out that children with both parents tend to be 20-30% has better physical health while children from single-parent families often develop low self-confidence and low self-esteem (Sok & Shin, 2010). Two-parent children get better grades while their peers from single-parent families tend to have a poor relationship with their teachers, inability to be attentive in class and engage in rebellious behaviors, which lowers their performance in class.

Single parenthood is challenging for both the children as well as the parents. There are instances where single parenthood results in success stories but a significant number of children from these families can attest to the fact that having two parents work better. Also, the duties of a single parent tend to give higher priority to the financial responsibilities of parenting leaving out some crucial activities such as bonding and helping the children understand that they are not disabled by their type of family structure. Based on my experience, I believe children should have both parents to take care of them because this helps in fostering positive child development.

References

Guner, N., & Knowles, J. (2009). Why is the rate of single-parenthood lower in Canada than in the U.S.? A dynamic equilibrium analysis of welfare policies. Canadian Journal Of Economics/Revue Canadienne D'economique, 42(1), 56-89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5982.2008.01499.x

Green, V., & Schaefer, L. (1985). The Effects of Personal Divorce Experience on Teacher Perceptions of Children of Divorce. Journal Of Divorce, 8(2), 107-110. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/j279v08n02_07

Sok, S., & Shin, S. (2010). Comparison of the Factors Influencing Children's Self-esteem between Two-Parent Families and Single Parent Families. Journal Of Korean Academy Of Nursing, 40(3), 367. http://dx.doi.org/10.4040/jkan.2010.40.3.367