Single Parenthood

Single Parents

Can single parent households be a family? Society says, “No”, however single parents are all over the world. Single parents can range from all ages and ethnicity. A single parent is a parent who cares for one or more child without the physical assistance of the other parent in the home (Wikipedia 2010). In 2006, the demographics on single parenthood were 12.9 million families in the United States. This number has considerably changed since then; in the United States 80% of these families were headed by females. Since 1994, the percentage of United States households headed by a single parent has remained steady at around nine percent, although it has nearly doubled since 1970. Being a single parent is becoming more popular in today’s society. After reading this argument, readers will know that a single parent household cannot become a family.

The United States has one of the highest divorce rates in the world, and single parents are stressing over unhappy marriages and lost commitments. These issues cause the parent, usually the single mother, to have poor health conditions. Single parents work countless hours, trying to pay the bills, which mean they normally work more than one job at minimum wage. They also usually eat on the run between jobs, causing them to eat unhealthy meals, and they have to rely on the assistance of the state or/and federal government. All of these things create stress in a single parent’s life. The single parent is expected by their child/children to conduct the same duties of a two parent household. The child/children do not realize the extra stress this causes their parent: for example: meeting the deadline for a school project, a doctor’s appointment, and sports actives. No one wants their children to go without, especially if the child is active in extracurricular actives. These kinds of parents are called “I do it all” parents, because they basically “do it all.”

Being a single parent could...