The Importance Of Family In The Family

Did you know that more than one fourth of all children in the United States live with only one parent? Single parenting has become more common today than in the 1800s, when it was sometimes frowned upon. As the years have gone by, it has become easier and easier for women to become single parents. In the 1800’s if husbands died or abandoned their families, women had no choice but to work for extremely low and unfair wages. Today, most men and women are treated equal and receive equal wages making it easier for women to be single parents. This concept is shown in Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer through Aunt Polly in the 19th century, single parenting is also common today.

In 2002, number of children living with their single parent was 16.5 million (Davidson). The most important thing is that each single-parent family is different from the other. Children who live with a widowed mother will definitely be living a different home life from children with divorced parents or the one whose parents were never married. Children of the parents who were divorced will always have some kind of relationship with parents and parents’ partners. But it is obvious that children from single-parent families face tougher times economically as well as

American families have never been as diverse as they are today. There is a constant changing definition of what we call “family”. We as Americans are straying further and further from the idea of a classic nuclear family. One of the biggest reasons is a dramatic rise in kids living with a single parent. In 2014, just 14% of children younger than 18 lived with a stay-at-home mother and a working father who were in their first marriage (Livingston, 2015). This research will address in depth why households are now more diverse than ever, what’s the normal family now, and why aren’t the laws adjusting to how the average American family lives today.

Divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing are now epidemic in American society. Both forms of disrupted families are harmful to children and to society. The children of single parents are more likely to do poorly in school, commit crimes, and become single parents themselves. In addition, the increase in single-parent families contributes to such social problems as poverty, crime, and a decline in the quality of public education.

Because of divorce, cohabitation and single parenthood, a majority of families rearing children in the next century probably will not include the children’s two biological parents, said Tom Smith, Director of the General Social Survey and author of “The Emerging 21st-Century American Family.” Moreover,

Similarly, some are faced with financial challenges while others are financially secure. In addition, some fathers are still involved in their children's lives, such as seeing them on weekends or holidays,while some fathers choose to be withdrawn from their childrens lives completely. Over the years, there have been many studies that show that the main dangers with single motherhood come from financial uncertainty and to a smaller degree, certain romantic patterns of the mother. A two-parent home that is economically steady with strain and conflict would be more damaging to children than a one-parent, financially stable home without strain and conflict according to McLanahan’s results. In truth, no household arrangement assures gladness or ensures

According to Ryan and Cooper (2008), the society has in the recent past undergone some dramatic changes in regard to familial structures. In their own words, the authors note that "the once common image of the 'breadwinner' father, a housewife mother, and two children 好ow accurately describes only a very small percentage of households in the United States" (Ryan and Cooper, 2008). What this means is that the number of single-parent households in the U.S. has been on the increase in recent times. It is however important to note that unlike their counterparts in two-parent households, single parents face a variety of unique challenges in seeking to raise children in an appropriate environment. One of the major disadvantages faced by single-parent households according to Ryan and Cooper (2008) has got to do with lower incomes. In the opinion of the authors, the additional financial burden in this case is triggered by "not just the absence of one parent but the loss of a two-parent income" (Ryan and Cooper, 2008). In that regard, single parents are forced to survive on a single source of income which is in most cases not enough to cover everyday expenses of

In our society nowadays, there is a growing problem in the structure of families. “Over the past twenty years, single-parent families have become even more common than the so-called "nuclear family" consisting of a mother, father, and children” (Single parenting and today’s family”). According to the Pew Research Center, thirty-four percent of families in the United States reported having only one parent in the household. It is a dire need to have two parents in the house to a child's health, but there is a continuing growth of more and more families end up splitting up and leaving children alone without a two-parent household. In the US alone it is predicted that between 40-50 percent of families divorce with at least one child in the house under 18 (“Marriage and Divorce”).

As for the number of people who decide not to marry, I am not in the least concerned, because every day they are growing older and dying without reproducing. If two individuals have a child out of wedlock, the baby must immediately be adopted by a married couple and chained to their family. Growing up in a united family will teach the child the virtues of marriage and the child will be more likely to marry than to remain single. Since there will a greater percentage of married couples, they will reproduce at a faster rate than those who decide to remain single. Eventually, the number of singles will become so insignificant that every person will marry someone else in order to avoid discrimination.

These pressing issues are becoming prominent as “most children in the U.S. spends some portion of their childhood living apart from at least one of their parents” (Grall 2009). Part of this occurs mainly because of high divorce rates as well as an unprecedented increase of childbirth to unmarried parents. In fact, one of the “greatest indicator for poverty and welfare dependency is a child born to a single mother headed household” (McCormick 2004). This concept does not merely dismantle the importance of family values, but it also promotes the continuous cycle of single-parenting. For this reason, having a

Despite the fact that the majority of children in America live in a two-parent household, alarming Census Bureau data reveals an enormous drop in the number of two parent families. Using their most recent data, the United States Census Bureau reports a 1.2 million drop in the number of two-parent households over the past decade (Bureau). Families without fathers impacts nearly eighteen million children in the United States. Fatherless households account for the majority of single parent households; however, motherless families influence another five million children (Bureau). Numerous reasons account for how single parent households develops; but as the number of children nurtured in single-parent homes continues to rise, a disturbing number

Single parent households are a sensitive topic that is highly debated today. This topic is one that has repercussions for both the parents and the children involved. However, regardless of the different consequences, these households continue to grow in the coming years. “In 1970, traditional two-parent married households dominated, making up 81 % of all households in the United States (US). By 2012 this number dropped to around 66 % … In 2012, approximately 21 million children, or 28 % of all children in the US, lived with one parent” (Kramer, 2015). It is interesting to look at the way the single parent households continue to grow throughout the years, all while being a hot topic for discussion on its consequences. When thinking about a book to read for this course, there was no real choice. I stumbled upon this book and knew right away that I could benefit from this book, as well as connect to it on a deeper level and relate to it personally.

Each and every day a child somewhere in the world is experiencing major changes within their family. One of those major changes is divorce or separation of parents. Divorce is “the action or an instance of legally dissolving a marriage”(Webster, 2011 p1). Today’s reality shows that couples only have one in two odds of remaining together. “ The U.S. Census bureau – involved in research about counseling children of divorce- estimating that approximately 50% of all American children born in 1982 lived in a single-parent homes sometime during their first 18 years. Mostly are due to divorce”(Children of Divorce, 2008 p.1). The rapid increase in divorce rates is a factor that has contributed to the large decline of the typical family. “Over 1

I believe there’s a lot of things important in our lives, but I would like to discuss only three. Change is always happening but we adapt to it to keep living on. One thing I really believe is important is my family. That’s just one thing I believe you may think that money is important we all have different opinions. We all think somethings important but it might not be important to others. So I’m going to tell you what I think appropriate importance is to me.

Traditionally, families are usually composed of a two-parent household, but considering the changing times, most families have become a single-parent household. In consideration with the changing times, two-parent families have temporarily become single-parent families, due to a father’s temporary absence, whether it is for work or military services. Although a father’s presence is important to a child because it reflects a sense of stability and daily interaction with a father figure and male authority. As stated, “The role of the father in the socialization of children in the American nuclear family is of particular interest, since he is ordinarily the only adult male with whom the child can