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Single-parent families in today's society have their share of daily
struggles and long-term disadvantages. The issues of expensive day
care, shortage of quality time with children, balance of work and
home duties, and economic struggle are among the seemingly endless
problems these families must solve. As a subject for my photographic
essay, I illustrate the concept of the single-family and their corresponding
struggles with daily life.
As many single-parent households are female-headed, their economic
burden is much greater than that of a single-father family. This
issue results from the fact that single women typically do not earn
the same income as a single man; thus, there is a consequent economic
struggle not experienced in the single-father household.
An offshoot of this economic struggle is the balance of work and
family duties. Single mothers often must work overtime shifts to
compensate for the low salaries, thus taking time away from their
children and other domestic chores. This results in a child that
is home alone, without adult supervision, or placed in a daycare
service for up to 8-10 hours per day. Government subsidized daycare
is not yet a realized dream, and many single mothers pay large fees
for this service.
Also included in this essay is an illustration of the perspectives
on child adjustment following a divorce. The photographs incorporate
the parental loss, parental adjustment, parental conflict and economic
hardships outlined in Newman and Grauerholz (2002). I expect my
finished essay to evoke a well-founded respect for single-parent
households and enhance a general understanding of the circumstances
inherent therein.
Two parents are always better than one according to the parental
loss perspective.
Source: Royalty free/CORBIS - CB011297
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In a two-earner family, one parent may be able to stay at
home with the children. But in a single-parent family, the
parent rarely has the option of staying home to care for children
full-time. Finding affordable, available childcare is likely
to be a challenge.
Source: Owen Franken/CORBIS -- #0F017531
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According to the parental conflict perspective, children suffer
from witnessing spousal abuse.
Source: Royalty free/CORBIS - CB032635
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The parental adjustment perspective suggests that children
in single parent families suffer because their parents have
difficulty adjusting and functioning.
Source: Royalty free/CORBIS - CB046312
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According to the economic hardship perspective, children suffer
from lower incomes more common among* single-parent families.
Children in single-mother households are especially vulnerable
because women tend to earn lower pay.
Source: Ephraim Ben-Shimon/CORBIS - AX041141
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