SINGLE-PARENT FAMILY: TYPES, ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES - ECONOMÍA - 2024

The single parent or single parent family is a family formed by at least one minor child and that only has one parent (father or mother). There are different types of single-parent families, in fact they have increased in recent years worldwide due to the increase in divorces or couples who do not want to marry.

The most frequent single-parent families are those formed by the mother and her children, whether biological or adopted, although those families formed by only one father are increasing considerably.

Children who live in single-parent households have to live with the fact that socially they are still not well regarded and are exposed to stereotypes that consider these children as more unhappy or with more problems.

In the vast majority of countries, single-parent families are at greater risk of poverty and more social difficulties than two-parent families (families made up of a father and mother). The simple fact of having to face childcare is an added difficulty, as is having only one source of income.

As in most single-parent families, the parent is the woman, they are more likely to have a job with a lower salary and even to do it part-time due to the incompatibility of working hours.

Types of single parent family

In single-parent families, the other parent has little or no participation in the child's life or, on the contrary, may be very involved.

This largely depends on the circumstances that have led each family to become a single parent family. There are several types of single parent families:

Divorced mothers or fathers

These are more often mothers who, after a divorce, are left alone to care for their children, although increasingly, thanks to joint custody, the responsibility falls on both the father and the mother.

This gives rise to a process of family reorganization in the way of life, the world of work and the roles of the children.

Widowed mothers or fathers

Until the 20th century, it was the only type of single parent family accepted both legally and socially. It is a family where one of the two parents dies.

This type of family also has to assume a series of emotional problems, both of the parent and of the children.

Single mothers or fathers

At this point there are also those parents who, although they live together at home, have not been legally married and are listed as single parents.

The cultural change about marriage has caused us to find more and more people who decide not to marry or have children without a stable partner.

With adopted children or children with assisted reproduction

This type of single parent family is characterized by both fathers and mothers who do not want to stop being so for the simple fact of not having a partner. They go either to adoption or more and more frequently to assisted reproduction.

Normally more women do it, although more and more cases of single or homosexual men turn to this option to fulfill the dream of being parents.

Advantages and disadvantages of the single parent family

Depending on the type of situation that has led to the formation of a single-parent family, there are some difficulties that the parent has to face, although this situation also has some advantages.

Advantage

- Single-parent families allow more attention to children due to the fact that the parents are fully aware that they need full attention. In addition, their attention is focused more on their children, since they do not have a "partner to attend to."

- Children tend to be more independent, children are taught to be self-sufficient in their day to day.

- A special bond is created between parents and children and they tend to share their free time a lot.

- Children are more responsible.

- In the case of separated or divorced families, by living with both parents separately, they learn and experience more in different situations.

Disadvantages

- The parents of single-parent families have less time to care for their child and have to share the care of them with other people such as babysitters or grandparents.

- Children who have gone through a situation of separation or divorce from their parents have to go through an emotional trauma and adapt to the new situation. This emotional trauma is also experienced by both parents.

- Often, the fact of only having one source of income means that the economic level is not as good as in families with two parents.

- Discipline can be more difficult, as you do not have the support of a partner and the protests of the children become more relentless. An enormous amount of stress can accumulate when you are the only person responsible for the care of the children.

Other types of family

The family is considered one of the fundamental pillars of society. It is in the family nucleus where children acquire values ​​and their emotional development depends to a large extent on these.

The Royal Spanish Academy defines it as a “group of people related to each other who live together”.

Nuclear family

It is the family made up of the father, the mother and the children, whether biological or adopted, who live in the same home. This is generally believed to be the ideal family.

The single parent family is currently considered a new form of this type of family. This type of family is still the favorite of many to raise children.

Traditional family

It is the typical lifelong family, one formed by a heterosexual couple with their children, where the father is the head of the family and is the breadwinner of the family, with the woman in charge of taking care of the home and children. Today this type of family is a minority, due to the evolution that society has experienced.

Modern Family

All types of families that do not have the characteristics of the traditional family are included here.

References

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