Single Parent Households A Single parent is a person not living with a spouse or a partner who has all the day-to-day responsibilities of a child or children. Single parent households are common in every generation. In the past, being a single parent was no struggle at all, because things were not as expensive or as hard. In the 21st century, single parent households have their share of daily struggles and disadvantages. The issues of expensive foods, daycares, and clothes, limited time spent with child, balance of work and home duties, and also economic struggles are along the endless problems single parent households have.
Single parent households in the Caribbean can be caused by many factors. One caused of single parent households is unexpected circumstances. These unexpected circumstances can be death, divorce, or rape. Historically death is one broad cause of a single parent households. Diseases like cancer, diabetes, dengue and a lot more can be the result in the death of a spouse which leaves the other partner to take care of the child themselves. Also murder can be a result in death of a spouse which leaves the next partner heart broken, and the responsibility of taking care of a child alone.
Divorce with battle of custody is another broad cause of single parent households. Persons getting divorce and have kids in most cases have a battle of which parent is taking the responsibility of the kids. In some cases the mother gets all the responsibility of making all decisions, and who the child lives with. Sometimes in these divorce battles the next partner has no rights at all of the child. Rape is another cause of single parent households. A person being rape can get pregnant, and this person may not believe in killing Gods precious gift to woman, although it was given in way no man would never want it to happen.
So in this happening, the person becomes a single mother taking responsibilities which were not planned for. Another cause of single parent households is planned circumstances. These involve the act of adoption, arrange pregnancy and family tradition. Adoption is the main and most common cause of single parent households. A person may not be married, or have a partner but want a child so badly that they plan on adopting one and be a single parent. Also, along with being single this person may not be able to get any kids, so adoption is the best option.
Arranged pregnancy is not a common cause of single parent households but it does occur in some cases. A woman can arrange with a man to get her pregnant, but he would not have rights, or involvement in the child’s life. Also in other cases persons go to the sperm bank to get a sperm donor which they would not have to worry about attachments or battles between people for custody of a child. Another cause but not a very broad one is family tradition. Persons growing up seeing their mother, grandmother, aunts and even uncles taking care of their children on their own.
A person may want to follow in their families’ footsteps because they did a good job taking care of the kids their selves. Single parent households can be also caused by unintended accidents between partners. Unplanned pregnancy, Incompatibility between partners, and father getting a better way of living are all called unintended accidents. Unplanned pregnancy is the ultimate cause of single parent households. Getting pregnant and not planning for it can be a big problem for mostly the father, because he may not want kids.
Being surprise with such news can be very upsetting knowing that the person do not want that big responsibility, and can result in the father leaving not wanting nothing to do with the child when it is born. Incompatibility between partners is a cause you find mainly now. A Father maybe abusive towards a mother and a child. The mother had enough of his abusive ways, and decide its time she take her child and disappeared taking all the responsibilities of rising the child alone without the abusive father being there.
Along with what was stated the father may not be abusive towards the mother, or the child but it seem that they cannot be in the same room with one other without biting off each other’s ears. Their always at it with each other, so this may result in, both, father leaving, or mother taking child and leaving. Lastly, another cause is a father may get a job offer which maybe in another city. This can result in he taking the job offer, and leaving without looking back knowing he has a child. Leaving the mother with all responsibilities and financial difficulties.
Unfortunately, there will always be single parent households in the Caribbean. There is no way to stop single parent households but there are ways to help single parents to succeed in parenting their kid or kids. For a single parent and child to reach the level of success they would have to reach the level of stability. Single parent should learn how to manage their money and time, and this would help them to reach stability and everything else would fall in place. Reaching this stability it enables the child to enjoy loving relationships, have peace and security, and it also enables the child to grow into a healthy, responsible adult.
