Trinidy Vargas

Professor Massey

E1101

Nov. 30, 2017

Support for Single Parents

Introduction: Constant stares and judgement, financial depression, and children facing

societal ills are all factors that single parents, men or women are constantly facing in todays

society. These are various situations that all come together to weigh in on the pressure single

parents face with on top of caring for their child alone. Its is when you are seen differently from

the rest when you are picked to being criticized no mater race or age. What society must come

together to understand is that properly raising a child alone does not depend on family structure

but on the values and responsibility on choosing to carry for their own family.

I. Topic Sentence: For decades, society has bought into the notion that single parents

are adverse. A controversial topic around the world that is viewed as impossible to

many, yet over the decades has become more common.

A. No one can completely take the place of an absent parent. But one person can make a

difference in filling a few voids. (Dr. Patricia Leavy)

B. "Surround yourself whenever possible with emotionally generous and secure people

who boost your confidence." (Klungness)

C. they still view single mothers as detrimental to society, according to a new poll of

attitudes toward the country's soaring number of nontraditional families. (Morello)

Trinidy Vargas

Professor Massey

E1101

Nov. 30, 2017

II. Topic Sentence: Due to a lack of economic stability its unsurprising why men or woman

of all race and color choose to forgo starting families or understandable why some

choose to start families of their own.

A. Several of the divorces and break ups occurred due to financial constraints and

unemployment and fathers leaving due to a sense of failure and shame. (Dr. Donna. Y

Ford)

B. Take advantage of state-funded child care programs, and medical and dental insurance

plans to ease some of the financial strain on your family. (Ernst)

C. Child poverty in single-parent families has increased every year between 2012 and

2015, bucking an otherwise downward trend in overall poverty in Australia. (Knaus)

III. Topic Sentence: Statistics in children experiencing societal ills have come to show that

the rates between single parents and a full family are a drastic difference. The structure

of a family doesnt necessarily affect the childrens future due to various of variables

being played in their life.

A. It is time to focus not just on quantity (number of parents in the home), but also on

quality (the significance of relations and the others supports children have). (Dr.

Donna Y Ford)

B. "It is important that she understand that in spite of the change in the family structure, she

still has a family." (Ernst)

Trinidy Vargas

Professor Massey

E1101

Nov. 30, 2017

C. research has shown that teens in single-parent households have a higher risk of

depression and lower self-esteem. (Mayo Clinic Staff)

Conclusion: To conclude I believe that if we lived in a society where people supported a single-

parent family, theyd realize a man or woman alone, can be a sole parent and provider for a

family. Despite all the economic depression, judgments, and societal ills a child may go through,

a single parent family is still able to be successful in their own way. If its possible for an

individual to build up their career into an empire, then why cant someone build a family without

a husband or wife. Maybe, without a partner, an individual can be enough to care for a family of

their own.
Trinidy Vargas

Professor Massey

E1101

Nov. 30, 2017

Constant stares and judgement, financial depression, and children facing societal ills are

all factors that single parents, men or women are constantly facing today. These are various

situations that all come together to weigh in on the pressure single parents face with on top of

caring for their child alone. It is when you are seen differently from the rest when you are picked

to being criticized no mater race or age. What society must come together to understand is that

properly raising a child alone does not depend on family structure but on the values and

responsibility on choosing to carry for their own family.

For decades, society has bought into the notion that single parents are adverse. A

controversial topic around the world that is viewed as impossible to many, yet over the decades

has become more common. Society has given the notion that a family should be structured a

certain way, that if a child is not brought up by two individuals who are together then that childs

life will develop to be catastrophic. The world has taught us the impossibility of a perfect child in

a single parent household, yet no child is perfect. No one can completely take the place of an

absent parent. But one person can make a difference in filling a few voids. (Dr. Patricia Leavy)

It is no rocket science that having either a mother or father figure in your life is crucial, but it

does not mean that the other parent cant fill in those voids. Parents can have help from

grandparents, uncles, male friends, etc. that can fill voids for their child to reassure them that

they are not missing out on a male figure. Not only is this hard on the child but also emotionally

hard on the parent with constant judgement and disapproval on being a single parent, "Surround

yourself whenever possible with emotionally generous and secure people who boost your
Trinidy Vargas

Professor Massey

E1101

Nov. 30, 2017

confidence." (Klungness) There can even be times in a single parents life where they are being

criticized by their parents, the ones they need the most support from and it completely brings

them down. The one thing parents can do is surround themselves with other parents in their

situation. Join single parent groups, make new friends, even have a baby sister who can help

them in desperate times. It may not seem like the absolute best support system but it sure does

build up their confidence in knowing as an individual they can do the impossible society has

portrayed. When we view a single mother with one or more children people ultimately think of

the fathers whereabouts and how he is contributing to the family. Why should this be the first

question to pop into our heads when we see this type of family. Its us giving the notion that

women themselves cannot be successful in a family, they still view single mothers as

detrimental to society, according to a new poll

of attitudes toward the country's soaring number

of nontraditional families. (Morello). It is

difficult to start a family on your own, does not

matter if its a woman or a man doing it. They

will both go through struggles but in the end the

parent and the child will grow together all based on how the child is brought up and the true

values of the parent in caring for their child. An ideal family and a single-parent household can

ultimately nurture a child with the same perspective and passion without having to do with the

number of parents present but mostly based on what the child experiences in his/her life.
Trinidy Vargas

Professor Massey

E1101

Nov. 30, 2017

When people are faced with limited job opportunities and depressed wages its no

wonder why families go through divorces or others starting families on their own. Due to a lack

of economic stability its unsurprising why men or woman of all race and color choose to forgo

starting families or understandable why some choose to start families of their own. How can you

even begin to think about stating a family when the resources arent even there? The institution,

financially and socially has completely changed with factors such as the rate on decline on

marriage and with individuals not wanting to have to wait for years for a suitable partner to start

a family. Several of the divorces and break ups occurred due to financial constraints and

unemployment and fathers leaving due to a sense of failure and shame., (Dr. Donna. Y Ford)

This quote is an exact example on the reason why some families are only structured with one

parent. A sense of failure and shame is a bitterness feeling that fathers and mothers feel when

raising a child leading them to think the best option for the child is for them to be out of their

lives. There is only so much a parent can do going from two parents to one while first raising a

child can be financially drastic for the parent raising the child, Child poverty in single-parent

families has increased every year between 2012 and 2015, bucking an otherwise downward trend

in overall poverty in Australia. (Knaus) Child poverty is nothing small to talk about, its

something happening around the world that people need to talk about to change it. Increasing

every year due to the lack of help parents get without good government policies supporting

families such as healthcare, jobs, education, even paid family leave. Take advantage of state-

funded child care programs, and medical and dental insurance plans to ease some of the financial
Trinidy Vargas

Professor Massey

E1101

Nov. 30, 2017

strain on your family. (Ernst), due to the economic instability the one thing single parents

should take advantage of is what the government gives to help, as well as support groups who

reference organizations with great benefits. With just a little bit of help from our government

individuals can be financially enough to raise a child and build up their family while maintaining

a stable job.

A controversial topic with ingle parents is the notion of the children being prone

to societal ills. Statistics in children experiencing societal ills have come to show that the rates

between single parents and a full family are a drastic difference. The structure of a family

doesnt necessarily affect the childrens future due to various of variables being played in their

life. The world was taught that if a woman were to dare have a child without a man the child will

surely b lead down the wrong path. In many cases

this is true with the statistics being high on single

parents than on a full structured family. Although

these statistics are accurate, it does not go into

detail about the way the family is structured on

their values and responsibility. As well does not do the average statistics on woman and men of

all race and color, It is time to focus not just on quantity (number of parents in the home), but

also on quality (the significance of relations and the others supports children have). (Dr. Donna

Y Ford) These statistics do not go around every variable in a family, from the parents

whereabouts most of the time, to where the family is living, genetics, etc. There are many
Trinidy Vargas

Professor Massey

E1101

Nov. 30, 2017

variables that go into this topic that the statistics dont use in their studies. Various of wealthy

families with a two-parent structured family have children that fall into societal ills as well due to

the amount of freedom given and the attention not given to their children. Many teens in single

parent households face insecurities when not having a mother/father figure, research has

shown that teens in single-parent households have a higher risk of depression and lower self-

esteem. (Mayo Clinic Staff) A lack of a female or male figure in their life can lead to depression

and low self-esteem but can also be prevented with filling in voids with other female/male

figures in a childs life. Not all children are the same, we dont all need and/or want the same

things in life. Single-parent families have many benefits that come with it, as well as negatives.

Even the ideal family can have negatives in the good easily pointed out. Its all a matter of the

type of person you are, for yourself and for your family. A family should not be defined with

how many parents or kids there are in a household but supported with thinking a person can

handle all that responsibility on being a parent and handling it well in their point of view. Many

children when faced with these issues turn to drugs and alcohol to ease the pain and sadness

within them, it is known among teens to rid of their problems for the day or week. It is also a

huge factor on how a single parent influences their child in making them know they are loved

making them forget about the missing figure in their life. Its such an important factor for a child

to know they are loved and belonged to their family, "It is important that she understand that in

spite of the change in the family structure, she still has a family." (Ernst) When finally talking

about the way a child can fall into societal ills, it can be understood that it does not depend on the
Trinidy Vargas

Professor Massey

E1101

Nov. 30, 2017

structure of a family but on the way a child is loved and given the attention they need to not fall

into societal ills everyone seems to claim that low-income families face.

To conclude, if we lived in a society where people supported a single-parent family,

theyd realize a man or woman alone, can be a sole parent and provider for a family. Despite all

the economic depression, judgments, and societal ills a child may go through, a single parent

family is still able to be successful in their own way. If its possible for an individual to build up

their career into an empire, then why cant someone build a family without a husband or wife.

Maybe, without a partner, an individual can be enough to care for a family of their own.
Trinidy Vargas

Professor Massey

E1101

Nov. 30, 2017

Works Cited

About Us. Single Parent Support Network. Encourage. Inspire. Empower., Carla Gonzalez,

supportforsingleparnts.org/. Accessed 26 Nov. 2017

Ernst, Michelle. Solutions to the Effects of Single Parent Families on Children.

LIVESTRONG.COM, Livestrong, 13 June 2017, www.livestrong.com/article/225697-soluions-

to-the-effects-of-single-parent-families-on-children/. Accessed 26 Nov. 2017

Knaus, Christopher. Poverty on rise in single-Parent families as child care costs bite. The

Guardian, Google, 1 Aug. 2017, 14:01, www.google.com/a,p/s/amp.theguardian.com/australia-

news/2017/aug/02/poverty-on-rise-in-single-parent-families-as-childcare-costs-bite. Accessed 3

Nov. 2017

Leavy, PhD Patricia. A Conservation about Single Parenting: Challenging the Stereotypes. The

Huffington Post, The Blog, 15 Jan. 2016, 11:45am, www.huffingtonpost.com/patricia-leavy-

phd/a-conversation-about-single-parenting_b_8981898.html. Accessed 25 Nov.2017

Poythress-Martin, Stacie, et al. A Bit About Us. Single Parent Advocate True Hope, Real

Help, Single Parent Advocate, www.singleparentadvocate.org/index.php/about-single-parent-

advocate. Accessed 26 Nov. 2017

Trinidy Vargas

Professor Massey

E1101

Nov. 30, 2017

Sarah, Rachel. Surviving and Thriving) as a Single Mom. American Baby,

www.parents.com/parenting/dynamics/single-parenting/surviving-and-thriving-as-a-single-

mom/. Accessed 26 Nov. 2017

Successful single parenting. Raising Children Network: the Australian parenting website,

Raising Children Network, 2 Jan. 2016,

raisingchildren.net.au/articles/successful_single_parenting.html. Accessed 26 Nov. 2017

Who We Are Parents Without Partners, Janet Gallinati, www.parentswithoutpartners.org/.

Accessed 26 Nov. 2017