Single Parenting: A Challenge?

Man is a social being. His presence has always been in groups and associations. Throughout the generations, we have seen the evolution of families. It all began with big sized joint families with three or four generations living under the same roof. Later on the family structure has slowly dissolved into smaller chunks of joint families and further into nuclear families. This may be as a result of the rise of necessity of individuals of being more independent and also might be because of the increase in the higher aspiration levels. More concentration or importance is being given to the career and lifestyle rather than making bonds and maintaining familial ties with one another. Now the ties have become even more brittle and the families have started to break down into single parenting families, be it single mothers, fathers or grandparents. It is one of the hardest tasks that one has to bear when taking up the role of both the parents as a single person.

Causes of Single Parenting

There are many causes which lead to families turning into single family entities from nuclear families which can be as follows:

1)      Death of a partner: Various health problems or unfortunate unforeseen accidents may lead to the death of one of the family members, sadly, leaving them with only one head of the family to run it.

2)      Divorce: With the rise of the issuance of divorce, many families have broken down into smaller than nuclear families and into single parenting ones.

3)      Unintended pregnancy: Sometimes births are unintentional outcomes which come out of wedlock relations. This is also one of the causes where the children are raised and families are run with a single parent.

4)      Optional adoption: People who have no wedlock or even the people who are interested to raise a family as a single parent go for this adoption facility.

                  

Hurdles in Single Parenting

Handling an entire family single handedly is very difficult even for a very efficient family player. Balancing work and quality time with children and family is rather very difficult and sometimes it may even have an adverse effect on the children and their growth along their childhood. Children need utmost attention especially during their adolescence. Neglecting this fact and not realizing the importance of which may hamper the individual growth of the child. Maintaining between household chores, paying bills, managing careers and also taking care of children with their school work, outings, and picnics is a herculean task for anyone. It is not that easy to play the role of both the parents in the family by a single person.  Single parenting has its disadvantages such as sacrificing personal space and time, giving up on aspirational goals in the field of career and more importantly all the stress and pressure to be handled. Further disintegration might happen if these fragile bonds are not taken care of properly.

However

There are parents who think that being a single parent is a boon to them, a blessing in disguise. They consider it as an opportunity to spend more time with their children. They have other family members, social group’s friends who pitch in a little every now and then and help them in many ways, be it with work or helping with their kids. They manage pretty well; maintain a perfect balance between work and life. So it is upon an individual to decide if this is a boon or a bane and how well he or she handles the situation at hand and breaks through.