Single parents are becoming more and more common these days. In fact, approximately one in five parents today are single parents, and the United States currently has the most single parents in the world, with about 13 million. According to statistics, it is much more common for the mother to take the children during a divorce/break-up, with 84% of custodial parents being mothers and only 16% being fathers. As well, of all households headed by a mother, 44% of them are divorced, 33% were never married, 22% were woman who had remarried, and only 1% were widows.
Being a single parent can really affect a person. Financial factors can become a big issue when the parent is trying to work a full-time job and take care of a child at the same time. There can also be a lot of stress trying to determine how to properly raise the children without the help or opinion of another adult.
The children can be greatly affected when their parents split up. Divorce almost always affects the children for at least a year or two. Immediately before and after the divorce, the child typically shows signs of depression, rebellion, and stress. Whether the distress lasts for a short or long amount of time depends on the stability of the child's life, and the adequacy of the caregiving. However, if the family's income remains stable, the parents don't fight too much, and the caregiving by both parents stays pretty much the same, then the children may not be affected as much.
On the other hand, single parenting can have positive effects. Single parents often spend more one-on-one time with the children, so they can develop stronger bonds with the child than if they were married. The children may also learn how to handle conflict after watching their parents set aside their differences to raise them.
For more information, check out the following websites.
http://singleparenting.suite101.com/article.cfm/single-parent-and-counseling
http://singleparents.about.com/od/parenting/a/cope_divorce.htm
http://www.singleparentingtips.net
http://single-parenting.families.com/blog/
http://www.successfulsingleparenting.com/blog/
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Agreed Taylor there are also postives. More positives include if its an abusing relationship the child may grow up in a house of violence which can lead to the children to later grow up and continue the cycle (be an abuser). The financial problems are a mojor issue but now a days with child support, government assistance and child tax credit theres not many reasons why money should be a HUGE issue. If it is there may be a lack of a budget.
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