There are several theories that have been put up by researchers explaining the single parent family concept. Yeah it’s true that single parent families make children to experience emotional social and cognitive problems. In most cases being a single parent is not by choice though some are single parents by choice. The reason why single parent families affect children is because they are not able to get the parental and economic resources that they may want. Single parenting is stressful to children but they are forced to adapt to these circumstances because they are born in them.
The quality of parenting
It’s obvious that when one parent takes care of the children, there are high chances that the quality of parenting is low. Children feel very happy when they are brought up by both the mother and father. In this case the family structure does not matter at all but what matters most is the quality of parenting given to children that can enable them to improve their social and emotional well-being. A single parent cannot be able to function effectively as compared to those who are married. Why? The married ones are less supportive to their children because they share the responsibility, less supervision of the children, more consistent in the dispensation of discipline but as a single parent you have to go an extra mile in order to meet the social and emotional needs of your children. A single parent family experiences problems in raising children and making ends meet.
Economic hardship
A single parent may not be able to take care of the children and provide everything for them. Therefore most children who have one parent usually are disadvantaged economically. According to research most parents who are single parents are poor and are therefore not able to afford home computers, books for their children or and are not even able to find time and have private lessons with their children as a way of assisting them succeed in school or even work harder for the betterment of their future. Single parents are not able to afford shoes, clothes, cell phones and even other important commodities for their children. At times you may find that these single parents are staying in rundown neighborhoods, access few community services and go to low quality schools that cannot enable them to prosper academically.
Exposure to stress
Those children who are living with single parents for example a mother or a father only are usually exposed to experiences that are stressful. They see their parent struggling to take of them and they feel affected in one way or the other. When they see their neighborhoods with both parents they feel that they are lacking something and this stresses them. Inept parenting, loss of contact with the parents and economic hardship can lead to emotional distress in children.
Lastly. Single parent advice is very crucial to the children as it encourages them and makes them stronger and happy. As a single parent also ensure that you spend more time with your children and advise them accordingly so that they can live better lives and make their future bright.
