Female Headed Household

[Name of the institute]Female Headed Household

Introduction

The world in which we live today is full of different people. These different people belong to different race, ethnicity or religion. In this huge crowd of people there are few on whom we can rely or depend. These few people include our families and friends. Over the period of time there has been a change occurred in the structure of the families. Gone are the days when there used to be a concept of an ideal family was only restricted to having fatherly and motherly figures living with their children in harmony. Now, this concept has been exaggerated and today it is also believed that families can also be raised by females alone. This give rise to the phenomenon of female headed household. The aim and objective of this paper is also to talk about this phenomenon of female headed household. The following part of the paper aims to undertake discussion about female headed household from variegated perspectives.

Background

Today's families are constantly redefining themselves and have been for many years. There is very little to debate over the fact that the numbers of divorces or children born to single women are increasing (Battle, 1995). These two situations alone not only involve the two parents but ultimately the children as well. More and more families are being divided (Battle, 1995). This in turn creates a whole new set of dynamics and expectations within the family. Children whose parents divorce are much more likely to live with their mother than their father (Battle, 1995). For many young women it seems a much more logical choice to remain in the home with their mothers, but this does not necessarily hold true for young men. For young boys or men, living with their mothers may create different expectations from both mothers and sons (Battle, 1995). For young men, regardless of age, family life can take on a wide variety of new roles and expectations not only by those within the family, but those outside the inner family circle (Battle, 1995). The tie that binds mothers and sons has been idealized in Western society as one of the most powerful bonds, yet one that has also been identified as a particular cause for worry.

Raising a child has always been a challenge. When a family has two parents who work together to raise a child, there is much to do. When a child is raised by only one parent, especially when a parent is of a female gender than the problem become more serious. This shows that the most important and frequent problem that is faced by the females who play the role of the head of their household face the problem of raising their children especially their sons.

Discussion

The following part of the paper discusses female headed household from different facets. First of all reasons are discussed that are the main causes of increased rate of female headed household. Afterwards, social trends and changes I the structure ...