Single Parent Issues

Sole Parent/Lone Parent - A contemporary issue in the Early years (Birth-5 years)

Sole Parent/Lone Parent - A contemporary issue in the Early years (Birth-5 years)

The paper aims to understand the issue of sole/lone parent, which is a contemporary issue specifically in the early years (from birth - 5 years). The paper strives to cover the issue in detail by highlighting the significance of the issue. The paper will also discuss the effects of this issue on young children. Moreover, the current policies and legislation relevant to the issue are also briefly discussed I the essay. Additionally, the essay will highlight areas where service providers, policy makers and practitioners can intervene to alleviate the issue of single/lone parent. Lastly, the essay will also critically analyse the prior research relate to the issue.

Single Parent/ Lone Parent

A single parent, lone parent or solo parent refers to a parent who is taking care of the primary or almost all of the responsibilities of his child or children. A single/lone parent is the parent who is not living with a spouse or partner, and is considered as the primary caregiver of his child or children. The children are usually living and spending most of their time with their primary caregiver or single/lone parent. In UK, single/lone parent families are considered as very common and it is very rare to find a couple bringing up their children together in majority parts of the country (Martin, 2012, pp. n.d). The percentage of single/lone parent families is considered as the highest in UK as compared to other European countries, and there are approximately 2 million single/lone parent families living in UK (Martin, 2012, pp. n.d). The main issue related to the single/lone parent family, in case of divorced parents, is that the children are handed over to their custodial parent and only visits or have secondary residence with their real parents (Benokraitis, 2012, pp. 431). Usually in a western society, the children after divorce of their parents are given in the custody of their mother as a primary caregiver, whereas, the father is considered as the secondary caregiver. In past, the major cause of raising a child as a single/lone parent is the death of a spouse or partner. At present single/lone parenting can be a result of death, separation, divorce or child abuse/neglect. The issue arises when each of the parent files a custody battle for their child or children in court, and the court then decides with whom the child will live or spend the majority of his time. Such decision can have several effects over the children and there could be various ways or suggestions to counsel with the children and their parents, as well. The court determines the mother to be as the primary caregiver in cases where the separation of parents is result of divorce or unplanned pregnancy.

Significance of Addressing Single/Lone Parent Issues

As discussed above, the number of single/lone parent families living in UK is relatively higher to single/lone parent families ...