Research Single Parent Children VS Dual Parent Children (Research Paper Sample)

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Single Parent Children VS Dual Parent Children
Over the last 60 years, the family definition has drastically changed. In the past, fathers worked to support their families while mothers stayed home looking after the children. Over the years, society has changed, changing the attitudes towards marriage and children. Society no longer acknowledges married family as a norm. It has become common today to find single parents raising children on their own, which is often disadvantageous to children in many ways. Dual parent families often offer a myriad of benefits for both children and adults. Their difference has significant consequences for both children and the couple. Dual parent children grow up in a much better environment than single parent children who are often disadvantaged in several ways.
Generally, married parents’ relationship significantly differs from that of cohabiting or single unmarried parents. The explanation to this is that two parents act as a team, making more rules and are more likely to adhere to them than the single parents. Dual parent families tend to provide a healthier and safer environment for their children’s growth. In many cases, children from intact families exhibit fewer behavioral problems, perform better in school, and are more likely to have healthy romantic relationships as adults. According to Rector, Fagan and Johnson (2004), scholars and professional family therapists at Heritage Foundation, not all dual families are ideal, and at times children fare well when brought up by single parents, but this is not a rule but an exception (1). Thus, children do better when raised by both parents.
Fatherly and motherly love play an important role in a family; thus, single parents cannot show same emotions towards their children as married couple can. Children learn to love from their parents. In cases where one parent is absent and not available to show and teach them how to love, their love tends to be inclined on the side. Despite single parents’ ability to show love to their children, they have no spouse to offer more love that is significant to the children. Thus, children miss the chance to learn and experience how a married couple should love one another as well as their children. The relationship is another recipe of need by everyone, especially children. Strong relationship is a necessity between children and their parents. Single parent children lack this privilege, as they are distant from one parent and often do not spend enough time with the available parent. Children raised by both parents, however, have a strong parental relationship, thus more likely to adhere to parental authority. Single parenting problem is the fact that a single parent does not have adequate time to help a child develop a close child-parent relationship. Thus, it is inevitable that children need both parents to establish a close relationship and to teach them the importance of respecting parental authority. This explains the reason why single parent children are vulnerable to misconduct both in school and in the society. According to Yongmin (2003), former professor of psychology at Loyola College in Baltimore, not all children from dual parent families have close parental relationships, but it is more likely (899).
Gender is also an important aspect that plays a significant role in every family because men and women possess different characteristics, both physically and emotionally. The different traits contribute to different roles they undertake as mothers and fathers in the family. For example, men are physically stronger than women are, thus ability to do many masculine chores in the house that women cannot. Women are likely to undertake everyday household chores, leaving the heavy duty work for the men. Women are heavily reliant on children when they need things as opposed to men. Hence, having both parents in a family makes a complete family interdependence structure. This distribution of chores within the family brings about a close bond between both parents and their children. Children are also able to learn how a family works and appreciate chores assigned to them by their parents unlike in single parent families where the sole parents do all the work. This makes it difficult for the single parent to delegate a duty to the child or children without retaliation. The family chores in a dual parent family also help the children to take responsibility for the families in the absence of both parents because both parents have instilled the values in them. Children also suffer from stress from different aspects of their lives when both parents are not available to help them out and guide them on how to face and deal with different challenges in their lives. Lansford (2001), psychotherapist, scholar and Editor of Journal of Marriage and Family Magazine, posits that stress is often due to forced self-reliance and independence before maturing to be able to cope with life challenges (848). Many single parents tend to leave their children at home, with relatives or even in low-quality day care centers when they leave for work, which causes stress to the children. It is also sometimes common to dual parent families who are working class to leave their children at work or day care centers, but studies reveal that it is more evident in single parent families.
Social science research confirms that traditional marriage practice had value and wisdom transferred to the children. A study documented by Rector, Fagan and Johnson (2004), shows that single parents have weaker control over their children and make lesser demands compared to dual parents. The idea that if parents are married or single, raising a child makes no difference is increasingly spreading in the modern generation backed by the saying, “parents are parents.” (3) But this idea is a misconception of the importance of marriage to children.
According to a survey on crimes committed by dual parent children and single parent children, single parent children are more prone to committing crimes compared to dual parent children. The survey confirms the importance of respect for authority among children, thus showing that single parent children are more likely to disobey parental authority. Single parent families not only cause stress among children but also to the single parents. This is more likely in cases of single mothers due to lack of father figure in the family. The survey also reveals that single mothers are likely to suffer from financial problems, which in turn affects the upbringing of their children. Apart from money, they are also deficient in time and energy to cater for their kids because they sometimes have to have two jobs to be able to cater for the needs of their children. Hence, the single mothers are always under pressure in all aspects of their lives, which in turn affects their children both socially and mentally due to stress from inadequate family resources. Lack of a husband to help raise their family, pay bills and show affection to their children leaves the single mothers hopeless, which in turn causes stress to the children. Children in such families suffer from mental illness due to stress and exhibit stunted growth. Another major cause of stress in single parent families is having a two parents’ responsibility on their own. Statistics presented by Shapiro and Lambert (1999) show that single mothers are highly susceptible to financial problems compared to dual parent families who share responsibilities (397). It also shows that 66 percent of children in single parent families live in poverty.
Children living with both parents are less likely to suffer from cognitive, social and emotional problems. Dual parent households in many cases have higher standards of living as there is adequate income from both parents and responsibility sharing. Hence, provision of effective parenting skills to their children leading to a less stressful life. Some parents leave abusive relationships to protect their children from exposure to marital conflicts. In this case, single parenting may have beneficial effects on the child because the children will not entangle in parental conflicts. This focus shifts to child-parent relationship, which may improve the bond and relationship between them. Daily chores structure evolves around the child. In such a case, the single parent children tend to develop responsibility, self-sufficiency, and independence at an early age. This is not always the case with children because they tend to lose their childhood at an early stage in life and may suffer from the separation of the parents. That said, it is always better to manage a marital crisis in a manner that does not affect the child in the long run. Rosenkrantz, Aronson and Huston (2004), scholars and family psychology consultants, agree that children exposed to such a scenario may also not be able to live a healthy marital relationship once they grow up, as they may abandon their spouses after a marital disagreement justifying what they saw from their parents (16).
According to a research published by Cornell University, children raised in dual families have a lower risk of adopting bad behaviors. Compared to those raised by single parents, they reported lower levels of peer pressure and substance abuse such as drinking, smoking, and drug abuse. They are also less likely to be involved in sexual activities at a young age and more likely to have good family virtues and long-lasting relationships as adults. In contrast, a high percentage of single parents never graduated from high school, which increases the chances of their off springs not to graduate from high school by ten percent. Exposure to parenthood at a tender age raises the chances of early and single parenthood in the next generation by approximately 120 percent. The research also shows th...