How Single parenting has negative effect - Essay Example

In this regard, the current discourse aims to contend that single parenting has negative effects that are detrimental to the children, and to the single parent, in the long run. Single parenting poses risks to the parent tasks to raise the children alone due to exposure to more stressors in responding to the needs of the family. As a single parent, the mother or father has to find ways and means to support the children holistically; meaning, financially, physically, emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually.

As asserted by Hertz, “women who came from working class backgrounds were at one and the same time proud of their mothers’ employment achievements and sad that it was their mothers who were doubly burdened with keeping family life together” (6). As such, the need to fit all tasks and endeavors in a limited time frame poses health risks to single parents, including risks for developing anxieties, depression, cardiovascular diseases, and even burnout. Concurrently, single parenting also exposes the children to be recipients of bursts of emotions and negativity.

This fact was revealed by Aldort and Aldort who contended that “sometimes, in spite of all our intentions to love and be kind, what we might feel toward a child is anger and even resentment” (15). . These are often feelings that we may not be aware of because of fear and discomfort rooted in our past experiences” (Aldort and Aldort 15). The negative impact of these outbursts to children include loss of confidence in themselves, depression, low morale, and even fear to socialize, trust others, and open up, as required.

After having presented the negative effects of single parenting to the parent and the children, it could also be asserted its damaging repercussion to social structures, particularly in terms of maintaining a solid and unified family as the basic unit of society. Single parents need to exert double efforts to make up for the loss of the physical presence of spouse and of a father or mother to the children. As such, there seems to be something lacking that is felt by the parent and the children alike.

This void could not be replaced by material things or by other people. Therefore, the negativity associated with trying to fill the void remains persistent. As averred, “warmth, discipline, materialism - dealing with all these issues effectively demands that we address not only the challenges that parents face, but also the needs that they have as they try to be the best parent they can” (Levine 169). As such, inasmuch as the single parent focusing all his or her efforts to provide a holistic support to the children, the needs of the parent could most likely be neglected and wanting.

Thus, the core values of maintaining a cohesive and supporting family, as the basic unit, are definitely eroded as society begins to accept single parenting as the socio-cultural norm in contemporary societies. There are those who argue that