In 2002, the Bush administration proposed to include in its budget funds to promote marriage in legislation in extending the welfare reform act. Such move has brought into focus the question as to whether getting parents to marry the answer to the difficulties that children in single-parent families face. Accordingly, advocates of marriage claim that they are morally certain that marriage or having two individuals raise the children provides the best kind of families.However, diversity defenders, such as feminists and liberalists also claim that single parent families are just as good as having two parents because children from single-parent families receive the same amount of love and care. Single parenting while it may have some advantages admittedly does not always give good credence to the family especially to the child.
While children from single parents may be given the same attention and care that children with two parents have, they nevertheless lack other values in other aspects.For example, a child raised by a single parent would have inadvertently thought that the parent is promoting premarital and extra-marital pregnancy, which in fact is responsible for the rise in single parenthood. There is also the probability of lessening the child’s confidence seeing that he or she lacks one parent to raise him or her. On the other hand, children from single parents are much better off in having only one parent especially if one parent is negligent and abusive.Having two parents while tending to be the ideal norm of society, can nevertheless be a disadvantage as well if a parent cannot perform his or her responsibilities for the family. But if the two parents of the child live.
Harmoniously together, this creates a very ideal and conducive environment for the child. Children would be provided well in all aspects such as material, financial, emotional, and psychological as well as the educational needs. However, single parents especially women, most often than not are inadequately prepared to face family life.The lack of a male and father figure would often result in the children having difficulty in interacting with the opposite sex.
For instance, it was found out that girls who grew up without the presence of a father became sexually active earlier than those of children who had two parents. Moreover, children from single parents were often victims and accomplices of crimes especially child abuse. Single parents as a matter of fact may lack the necessary competencies to raise their children and teach them values which couples or spouses are able to provide their children.The concept of single parenthood as a result of divorce teaches children about faithfulness.
This may either be received positively or negatively by the child. Whereas couples can teach their children about cooperation, faithfulness and fidelity, single parents on the other hand may have difficulty doing so because they have no one to share such values with. However, the absence of a spouse in raising the family does not mean that it cannot be resolved or addressed.Other male figures can also help in raising the children by acting as a substitute to the father. Children who were originally from married couples and whose parents have gotten a divorce do not always end up suffering.
In fact, a divorce may just as well be beneficial to the kids as these would mean that children will not have to witness parental conflict. As researches indicated, children from parents who ended up getting divorced give improved normal outcomes to these children.Referencehttp://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1642970/posts
