Caring for a child is a great responsibility that requires time and patience. Society influences us to portray the perfect family, where a single-household is regarded as unacceptable but is it always in the child's interest to be raised by two parents?
Research results from Hilton and Deval (1998) give evidence that the family structure ´contributes to children's behavior problems`, and report a significant difference between single and married parents, with single households documenting more negative behavior problems. Consequently, children who are brought up by two caregivers show better social, emotional, and physical health, since the children have two role models who provide love, family support, and a stable environment to grow up in.
Furthermore, the responsibility for the child's development is shared by two people. Due to the cooperation between the guardians the child's life is more balanced and less stressful since the parents have more time devoted to the children.
The income of a double-household gives more access to economic resources creating opportunities to participate in social activities like a sports club that can positively influence the child's social competencies.
It also allows for an exchange of assumptions about a specific subject among the adults, for instance, future educational decisions. In addition to that, the different beliefs of the guardians offer a child more perspectives to create their own opinion.
However, an inharmonious relationship between the parents affects the child in various aspects. Not only does it negatively influence the future relationships of the child but it also impacts the psychological-well being and educational development. In an unstable household, the child's mental health can suffer due to a sense of loneliness and being drawn between two fronts. If the parents stay together for the child's interest it might be more harmful than raising the child alone since the child does not live in a positive, consistent environment where it has time to focus on schoolwork and therefore develops negative behaviors.
For this reason, one parent might be more beneficial for the child since he or she devotes her time specifically to parenting and lays focus on their well-being. Due to the undivided attention, the bond between the guardian and the child is even stronger since they function as a team. The child does not experience arguments or conflicts between the parents about decisions and therefore feels safer, reducing their stress level. A single-household also creates opportunities for autonomous learning that positively impact educational development and teaches a child to be independent and confident.
Nonetheless, with only one guardian the perspective regarding parenting choices is one-sided, the contributions about values and beliefs are more crucial since they directly impact the child's point of view. Consequently, the role model must be aware of their influence when making choices concerning their future.
In addition to that, the primary responsibility for childrearing is a structural problem since one person has to balance work, provide an income, and care for the child's educational and social life. It is also more stressful for the caregiver who has less time for oneself, experiences added pressure and feels overwhelmed by the number of tasks. With the financial resources of a single parent, there is also a greater possibility to have a shortage of money which decreases opportunities concerning school or work choices.
A study published by Cornell University in 2009 reported that children with single-parent families have greater levels of high-risk behaviors regarding the use of substance abuse like consuming drugs compared to married families. The child has only one contact person who encourages and cares for them, as a result, the child develops social and emotional insecurities, and is more likely to fail in school.
For this reason, it is most important to center on the child's well-being, while on average, two role models are superior to one, in some cases one devoted guardian is better than two less involved. In fact, it is in the child's interest to have a stable family structure with responsible, committed, and loving parenting.
Caring for a
child
is a great responsibility that requires
time
and patience. Society
influences
us to portray the perfect
family
, where a single-household
is regarded
as unacceptable
but
is it always in the
child's
interest to
be raised
by two parents?
Research results from Hilton and
Deval
(1998) give evidence that the
family
structure ´contributes to children's behavior problems`, and report a significant difference between single and married
parents
, with single households documenting more
negative
behavior problems.
Consequently
, children
who
are brought
up by two caregivers
show
better
social
, emotional, and physical health, since the children have two role models
who
provide
love
,
family
support, and a stable environment to grow up in.
Furthermore
, the responsibility for the
child's
development
is shared
by two
people
. Due to the cooperation between the guardians the
child's
life is more balanced and less stressful since the
parents
have more
time
devoted to the children.
The income of a double-household gives more access to economic resources creating opportunities to participate in
social
activities like a sports club that can
positively
influence
the
child's
social
competencies.
It
also
allows
for an exchange of assumptions about a specific subject among the adults,
for instance
, future
educational
decisions.
In addition
to that, the
different
beliefs of the guardians offer a
child
more perspectives to create their
own
opinion.
However
, an inharmonious relationship between the
parents
affects the
child
in various aspects. Not
only
does it
negatively
influence
the future relationships of the
child
but
it
also
impacts the psychological-well being and
educational
development. In an unstable household, the
child's
mental health can suffer due to a sense of loneliness and
being drawn
between two fronts. If the
parents
stay together for the
child's
interest it might be more harmful than raising the
child
alone since the
child
does not
live
in a
positive
, consistent environment where it has
time
to focus on schoolwork and
therefore
develops
negative
behaviors.
For this reason
, one
parent
might be more beneficial for the
child
since he or she devotes her
time
specifically
to parenting and lays focus on their well-being. Due to the undivided attention, the bond between the guardian and the
child
is
even stronger since they function as a team. The
child
does not experience arguments or conflicts between the
parents
about decisions and
therefore
feels safer, reducing their
stress
level. A single-household
also
creates opportunities for autonomous learning that
positively
impact
educational
development and teaches a
child
to be independent and confident.
Nonetheless, with
only
one guardian the perspective regarding parenting choices is one-sided, the contributions about values and beliefs are more crucial since they
directly
impact the
child's
point of view.
Consequently
, the role model
must
be aware of their
influence
when making choices concerning their future.
In addition
to that, the primary responsibility for
childrearing
is a structural problem since one person
has to
balance work, provide an income, and care for the
child's
educational
and
social
life. It is
also
more stressful for the caregiver
who
has less
time
for oneself, experiences
added
pressure and feels overwhelmed by the number of tasks. With the financial resources of a single
parent
, there is
also
a greater possibility to have a shortage of money which decreases opportunities concerning school or work choices.
A study published by Cornell University in 2009 reported that children with single-parent
families
have greater levels of high-
risk
behaviors regarding the
use
of substance abuse like consuming drugs compared to married
families
. The
child
has
only
one contact person
who
encourages and cares for them,
as a result
, the
child
develops
social
and emotional insecurities, and is more likely to fail in school.
For this reason
, it is most
important
to center on the
child's
well-being, while on average, two role models are superior to one, in
some
cases one devoted guardian is better than two less involved. In fact, it is in the
child's
interest to have a stable
family
structure with responsible, committed, and loving parenting.