PRO'S AND CON'S OF SINGLE PARENTING

Pro's and Con's of single parenting

Pro's and Con's of single parenting

Introduction

In today's world, single parents are common. There are several effects from being a single parent that effect both parent and child. There are many stresses that a single parent faces daily. Financial concerns may cause a great deal of stress. In some instances, child support is issued but is not paid. The child support enforcement agencies are not always able keep up with the enforcement laws. There are many single parents that have to rely on their own income. This may lead to difficulties with the child because the parent will have to work long hours to support them. Custody battles or visitation, are other issues that may have both negative and positive effects to the single parent. There may be custody battles that result in the child having to switch back and forth from parents homes. This may pose positive or negative effects to the parent and child. There maybe separation anxiety when the child goes to the other parents home. The positives to this are that the child will have the benefits of having both parents active in their lives.

With divorce rates now at record high levels the number of children living in single parent homes is higher than ever and whether you're a mom or a dad single parenting presents you with some unique challenges. The first set of problems that a single parent faces are practical and, as most single parents these days have to work, these involve such things as finding suitable day-care, making arrangements when having to work late or at weekends and fitting in everyday activities such as shopping.

Pro's and Con's of single parenting

How you cope with these practical difficulties will depend very much on your personal circumstances and financial position, but many single parents are often able to rely on older children to care for younger ones and on help from family and friends. In most cases these problems are not too difficult to overcome and a reasonable solution can usually be found.

It is often issues beyond the purely practical that present single parents with the greatest challenge and the loss of a partner to discuss problems with, to use as a sounding board and to bounce ideas off can be difficult.

Some parents also find it difficult to deal with children of the opposite sex and, in particular, miss the input from the same sex parent who is able to draw on his or her own experience of childhood. In many cases these problems can also be overcome by turning to other family members or friends for advice, but this is not always quite so easy or practical.

On the other side of the coin many of the problems posed by single parenting are balanced by what many see as often considerable advantages. The loss of a partner also frequently brings with it the loss of disagreements, arguments and tension in the household and can ...