Essay - Single-Parent Families

After reading a number of articles related to the topic “Modern Family Life” I've come across some very interesting insides and questions concerning the life of the children of divorced couples. These questions I'm going to answer based both on facts (provided by the articles I mentioned above) as well as on personal experience. I also must admit now, before you read the following essay, thatI’ve recently become a child of a separated couple.
The articles an which I base the following essay are “Unmarried, with children” written by Barbara Kantrowitz and Pat Wingert and “Confronting the Myths of Single Parenting” written by Loanda Cullen.
Are single-parent families “broken homes”?
Firstly, I think that in order to answer this question properly I have to define “broken home”. The term“broken home” can be used to describe a household which does not function properly. Under this please understand that it is meant only and exclusively to those families whose problems interfere with the upbringing of the child, or even with the life of the family members [e.g. a household in which one (or more) family member (s) suffer from an addiction of any kind (i.e. alcoholism, substance abuse,etc.)].
A study made by the University of Michigan of over 6,000 adults has shown that statistically children of divorce are just as likely to be happily married as someone who grew up in a two-parent home.
Personally I've seen how families have grown not only stronger but happier after the separation. These so called “broken families” are usually the result of an unhappy family, this can beprevented by either trying to solve the problems these families may have experience or (once they have tried so and failed) by getting a divorce (if the problem can be solved in this way). As a matter of fact, I do believe strongly that the crucial factor in order to prevent these separated or divorced families of becoming “broken homes” are the terms on which the parents have split up. The mosttraumatizing experience a child can have is the constant arguing of jis parents (both married as well as divorced ones). Putting a child in the middle of a problem (esta parte me la corrigió pero no entiendo que corrigió) which should be solved by adults is one of the worst mistakes a parent can make.
Do children in single-parent families suffer emotionally and behaviorally?
“No one really knowsthe long-term consequences for youngsters who grow up in these new varieties of single-parent and cohabiting homes” - Barbara Kantrowitz and Pat Wingert. This quotation refers to the children of divorce, who face different issues than youngsters whose parents have chosen to be single from the start or are cohabiting with their children's fathers or other partners.
Studies have shown there is nodirect connection between the children of single parents and crime. This studies have shown that (idem arriba) these children are “neither doomed nor reprieved from doom” (“Confronting the Myths of Single Parenting”). There is no such thing as a disadvantage for children when it comes to the relationship status of their parents.
It is a fact that children of divorce have to deal with someexperiences that other children may never have to deal with. This, however, does not have to be a traumatizing experience. As said before, every child can suffer emotionally and behaviorally despite the relationship status of his parents. It is undeniable that this may play an important role in this matter, but it is not the only factor which influences the out coming of the child. I could name twentycases of single-parent children who have become “damaged” members of our society as I could of divorced parents.
Do children of single-parent families have lower self-esteem?
“Single mothers in general have less time for each individual child than two parents” (“Unmarried, with children”)
A study found that the deciding factor related to the children's self-esteem is the income level, it...