Single-Parent Family Structure
Family structure is a term used to describe the situation or pattern of family members who are connected by either marriage or blood. There are various types of family structures in society, but the most common family structure in the United States is the single-parent family structure. A single-parent family is where only one parent is living and providing for the child while the other spouse chooses to stay away from my family, or they could be dead. Many parents, especially women, are raising their children by themselves in the present days, and this happens either by choice or due to circumstances that they don’t have control over. However, single-parenting has a lot of challenges that need a lot of dedication and love to overcome. In the United States, single parent-families have grown so familiar, and it exists in different cultural groups in the united states, such as Hispanic, Native Americans, and Black Americans. The three cultures shares similarities and differences in their experiences of single-parenting that include; fewer family arguments, experiences of stigmatization, independence and responsibility, imbalances of social and work life.
There is a difference in the experience of stigmatization cases due to single-parenting in Hispanic, Native Americans, and Black Americans. Stigmatization of single-parent families can interfere with the wellbeing of single parents and their children in society (David, 2015). Hispanic culture records cases of stigmatization of single-parent families by the people around them. They explain that many people think that single-parents are irresponsible people who just gave birth before the right time came. They tell that society even feels that when you are a single mum, then you are definitely after someone’s husband. The mentality has created enmity between single-patents and the rest of society. On the other hand, Black Americans have not reported a case of stigmatization against single-parents. They even explain that a good number of people in Black American culture often want to end up as single-parents since they feel that it is stress-free and easy to manage. The Native Americans have reported minimal cases of stigmatization of single-parenthood. They explain that most people in their culture understand and respect one’s decision of being a single parent. They also understand that circumstances like death can result in single-parent families. However, some people in the Native American culture do not know why someone would end up as a single parent, and they criticize the families. People should understand that everyone has the freedom to choose if what they think is best for them. The society has no opinion but to respect other people’s choices.
Single-parent families face fewer family arguments amongst Hispanic, Native Americans, and Black American Cultures. The three cultures define their experiences in the single-parent family as peaceful and easy to control family (Maldonado & Nieuwenhuis, 2019). They explain that a single-parent family consists of few family members, and therefore it is not always common for conflicts to crop up in such families. In a single-parent family, it is easier to formulate family policies that are various measures that help the family members to conduct their activities in a more organized manner. The three cultures agree that when one is in a single-parent, children have no option but to get close closer to them since there is no other parent in the picture to be trusted. Consequently, single-parent families have developed high friendship bonds between parents and their kids. Hispanic, Native Americans and Black Americans have, therefore, had an opportunity to contribute massively to the mental and physical growth of their children because of the strong bond between them. When parents and children are more of friends than just relatives, children become more open to their parents and can share out every single detail of what bothers them. The cultures have, therefore, shared a tremendous similar experience of child upbringing through the help of single-parenting techniques.
Just like Black Americans and Hispanics, Native Americans admit experiencing and developing personalities such as independence and being responsible. Single-parents across the three cultures explain that proper maintenance of their families, single-parents have to work hard to make both ends meet in their families (Nieuwenhuis, 2018). Black Americans’ primary concern in single-parenting is providing the best for their children. They explain that it can only be realistic if one gets out of their comfort zone to look for better job or business opportunities that they can strive through to provide both basic needs and luxuries for their children. Consequently, Hispanic and Native Americans elaborate on similar experiences with that of Black Americans. With all that said, it is clear with no doubt that the three cultures share the same experience of single-parent families. The situation naturally shapes them into being more aggressive people, making them work hard with a lot of dedication to provide for their children. When one is a single parent, they rarely get support from external sources, and therefore they need to work extraordinarily to get reasonable upkeep for their families. Single-parenting has, therefore, acted as a motivation towards hard work across the three cultures in the United States.
An imbalance in social and work life as a result of single-parenting is a significant challenge across the cultures. Typically, balancing work and social life can be very devastating if time is not managed correctly (Lauresen, 2009). Therefore, combining work and family is, without a doubt, a problem to the single-parents because, in most cases, they end up in more than one job to boost their family financial status in check. The three cultures explain that problem of working more and spending less time with their families has become the biggest challenge in managing their families. They elaborate that when children reach a certain age, they always want their parents around either because children feel safer with them or because they want to share things out with their parents. It happens mainly at the adolescent stage. When parents fail to comply, children may feel that their parents are caring no more, and they may develop feelings of withdrawal.
In conclusion, it is, therefore, reasonable to understand that family structures are very vital and contributes a lot to the mental and physical growth of an individual. Native Americans, Black Americans, and Hispanic cultures share similar and different experiences in a single-parent family situation. The experiences that they share include limited family arguments, stigmatization issues, being independent and responsible, and problems of imbalances in work and social life. The three cultures share a lot of similar experiences in single-parenting, and they explain that a single-parent family is easy to maintain and manage because of the fewer number of family members from their experiences; it clear how selfish some people can be. People often discriminate and stigmatize single parents by judging and condemning them. Society should, therefore, understand that no matter the family structure one his coming from, it is their choice and needs to be respected.
References
David, N. (2015). In Defense of Single-Parent Families (pp. 3-16).
Kavas, S., & Gündüz-Hoşgör, A. (2013). The parenting practice of single mothers in Turkey: Challenges and strategies. Women’s Studies International Forum, 40, 56-67. doi: 10.1016/j.wsif.2013.05.004
Lauresen, B. (2009). Conflict mothers and adolescents in Single-mother, Blended, and Two-Biological Parent Families. doi: 10.1207|s15327922par0504-3
Maldonado, L., & Nieuwenhuis, R. (2019). Single parent in context. Oxford Bibliographies. doi: 10.1093|OBO|9780199756384-0220
Nieuwenhuis, R. (2018). The Tripple Bind of Single-Parent Families: Resources, Employment, and Policies to improve Wellbeing. Policy Press, 2018.