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It is difficult enough to be a good parent today, and it is even more difficult to be a good single parent. Good parenting has less to do with the number of parents in the home than with the quality of the parenting. Raising children alone is a huge challenge for all single parents. Today’s single parents struggle daily with issues of day care, quality time with children, balance of work and home duties and economic hardship. All are ongoing problems single parents must solve. Single parents are not unique in their struggles though; figures released by the Census Bureau in 2007 indicate there are nearly 14 million single parent families in the United States today. Those 14 million single parents are raising about 22 million children by themselves.
Most single parents are female, with 83% of single parent families being headed by women. The economic burden is usually greater when single parents are female due to the unfortunate fact that women typically do not earn as much as men in the workplace. Single parent mothers may have to work more hours to compensate for the wage disparity, ultimately causing more hardship at home as kids are left alone or placed in daycare for extended periods.
Statistics show that average female single parents are divorced or separated (44%) and employed full-time (79%). Average male single parents are also divorced or separated (57%) and working full time (90%). Unfortunately, nearly one third of all single parents live in conditions of poverty. One third of single parents also receive public assistance. The burdens of single parents and the children they raise falls upon both the parent and the society they live in.
Single parent situations can arise from many different situations. The loss of a spouse, the end of a marriage, or a difficult adjustment to one of life’s many financial disasters can all trigger the creation of a sudden and unexpected single parent household.
Getting through the first year for single parents can be very rough. Some of the hardships can be reduced by joining a formal support group for single parents. Single parents that approach problems with outside help can often gain renewed hope and personal strength from the association with other single parents in their same situation.