Characteristics of State Plans for Aid to Families With Dependent Children

Single-parent families

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Definition

Single-parent families are families with children under historic period 18 headed by a parent who is widowed or divorced and not remarried, or by a parent who has never married.

Description

One out of every two children in the U.s. will alive in a unmarried-parent family at some time before they achieve age 18. Co-ordinate the United States Census Bureau, in 2002 virtually twenty million children lived in a household with but their mother or their father. This is more one-4th of all children in the Usa.

Since 1950, the number of one-parent families has increased substantially. In 1970, near 11 pct of children lived in single-parent families. During the 1970s, divorce became much more than common, and the number of families headed by one parent increased quickly. The number peaked in the 1980s and and so declined slightly in the 1990s. Past 1996, 31 per centum of children lived in single-parent families. In 2002, the number was 28 percent. Many other children have lived in unmarried-parent families for a time before their biological parent remarried, when they moved into a 2-parent family with 1 biological parent and one step parent.

The reasons for single-parent families accept also changed. In the mid-twentieth century, about single-parent families came well-nigh because of the decease of a spouse. In the 1970s and 1980s, most single-parent families were the issue of divorce. In the early on 2000s, more and more single parents have never married. Many of these single parents live with an adult partner, sometimes even the unmarried father of their child. These families are counted by the Demography Bureau as unmarried-parent families, although two adults are nowadays. Still other families are counted as single-parent families if the parents are married, but one is away for an extended period, for example, on military deployment.

The near common blazon of single-parent family is i that consists of a mother and her biological children. In 2002, 16.v million or 23 percent of all children were living with their unmarried mother. This group included 48 percent of all African-American children, 16 percent of all not-Hispanic white children, 13 percent of Asian/Pacific Islander children, and 25 percent of children of Hispanic origin. However, these numbers practice not requite a truthful movie of household system, because 11 percent of all children were really living in homes where their mother was sharing a home with an adult to whom she was non married. This grouping includes 14 percent of white children, 6 percent of African-American children, 11 percent of Asian/Pacific Islander, and 12 per centum of Hispanic children.

Households headed by a single father increased substantially later the early on 1980s, reflecting lodge'south changing attitudes nearly the part of fathers in child rearing. In 1970, only 1 pct of children lived with a unmarried male parent. In 2002, virtually 5 percent of children under historic period 18 lived with their single fathers. Single fathers, however, are much more likely to be divorced than never married and much more likely than single mothers to be sharing a home with an adult to whom they are not married. For case, 33 percent of Caucasian children lived with fathers who were single but cohabiting with another developed. The rate was 29 percentage for African-American children, 30 percent for Asian/Pacific Islanders, and 46 percent for children of Hispanic origin. Information technology is clear that non all single-parent families are the aforementioned and that within unlike ethnic and racial groups, the number and type of single-parent families varies considerably.

Adoption by single individuals has also soared. In 1970 only 0.5 to 4 percent of adoptive parents were single. In the 1980s this rate increased from 8 to 34 percent. According the The states Department of Health and

Single parent and her children spending time together.

(© Rick Gomez/Corbis.)

Human being Services, 33 percent of children adopted from foster care are adopted by single parents.

Mutual problems

Single-parent families confront special challenges. Ane of these is economical. In 2002, twice as many single-parent families earned less than $thirty,000 per yr compared to families with 2 parents nowadays. At the contrary finish of the spectrum, 39 pct of two-parent families earned more than $75,000 compared to 6 percent of single-female parent families and eleven percent of single-father families. Single-parent families are challenged in other ways. Children living with unmarried fathers were the least probable of all children to have health insurance coverage.

Social scientists have found that children growing up in single-parent families are disadvantaged in other ways when compared to a two-biological-parent families. Many of these problems are direct related to the poor economic status of unmarried-parent families, not just to parenting style. These children are at gamble for the post-obit:

• lower levels of educational achievement
• twice as likely to driblet out of school
• more probable to get teen parents
• more conflict with their parent(south)
• less supervised by adults
• more probable to become truants
• more ofttimes corruption drugs and alcohol
• more high-take chances sexual behavior
• more probable to bring together a gang
• twice as likely to go to jail
• four times as likely to need help for emotional and behavioral problems
• more likely to participate in violent criminal offence
• more likely to commit suicide
• twice as probable to get divorced in adulthood

Studies accept also institute that children who alive in a two-parent family where one parent is abusive or has a loftier level of antisocial behavior do not practice too as children whose parents divorce if the child then lives in a unmarried-parent family with the nonabusive parent.

It is important to retrieve that every single-parent family is different. Children who are living with a widowed mother will accept a home life that is different from children with divorced parents or those whose parents were never married. Children of divorced parents will take a broad range of relationships with their parents and parents' partners depending on custody arrangements and the commitment of the non-custodial parent to maintaining a relationship with the kid. Despite the fact that children from single-parent families often face a tougher time economically and emotionally than children from two-biological-parent families, children from unmarried-parent families can grow up doing well in schoolhouse and maintaining healthy behaviors and relationships.

Parental concerns

Being a unmarried parent tin exist difficult and lonely. There is oftentimes no other adult with whom to share determination-making, discipline , and financial responsibilities. The full burden of finding responsible childcare, earning a living, and parenting falls on 1 individual. Nonetheless, the lack of a 2d parent often has a less negative touch on children than family instability, lack of structure, and inconsistent enforcement of parental standards. Single parents may want to follow these steps in guild to create positive experiences for their children:

• Detect stable, safe child care.
• Establish a home routine and stick to it.
• Use rules and discipline clearly and consistently.
• Allow the child to be a child and not inquire him or her to solve adult problems.
• Go to know the important people (teachers, coaches, friends) in the child's life.
• Answer questions about the other parent calmly and honestly.
• Avert behavior that causes the kid to experience pressed to choose between divorced parents.
• Explain financial limitations honestly.

When to get help

If parents feel their child is out of command and is not responding to their parenting, they need to go help from the child's school, social service agencies, and mental health professionals. If they feel their ain life is spiraling downward and falling apart, they can seek help from many organizations that provide social, emotional, financial, and legal support for single-parent families.

Resource

BOOKS

Karst, Patricia. The Unmarried Female parent'south Survival Guide. Freedom, CA: Crossing Printing, 2000.

PERIODICALS

Fields, Jason. "Children'southward Living Arrangements and Characteristics: March 2002." Current Population Reports. United states Department of Commerce Economic science and Statistics Administration, June, 2003.

Jaffee, Sara R., et al. "Life with (or without) Father: The Benefits of Living with 2 Biological Parents Depend on the Father's Antisocial Behavior." Child Development 74 (Jan-Feb 2003): 109–27.

ORGANIZATIONS

Parents without Partners. 1650 South Dixie Highway, Suite 510, Boca Raton, Florida 33431 Web site: http://www.parentswithoutpartners.org.

Single and Custodial Fathers Network Inc. Spider web site: http://scfn.org .

WEB SITES

Single Parent Cardinal. Available online at http://www.singleparentcentral.com (accessed Nov 14, 2004.).

Tish Davidson, A.Thou.

olingerfalong.blogspot.com

Source: http://www.healthofchildren.com/S/Single-Parent-Families.html

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