Introduction
The number of lone parents across the globe continues to increase. There are numerous factors that have been identified to contribute to this. Some of them include an increase in the number of divorces, employment, and the ability to access welfare support. Lone parents and in particular single mothers have experienced numerous challenges in bringing up their children. It has been hard for them to secure jobs and for those who happen to be employed; the salary they get is not sufficient (Sigle-Rushton & Waldfogel pp. 87-94).
Different ideologies have been attributed to the existence of single-parent families. The belief about the “place” of women in society has subjected them to discrimination based on race, gender, and when it comes to employment. There are women who believe in a feminist ideology that they have the right to get babies with men of their choice and be supported by these men despite them not getting married. This has been strongly opposed by men leading to such women bearing the burden of bringing up their children.
As a way of assisting lone parents in bringing up their children, some policies have been established. Some of the policies seek to ensure that these parents get a well-paying job while others seek to ensure that employed lone parents have a flexible working environment that allows them to balance their parental duties with work.
Historical Perspective on Lone Parents
Throughout the twentieth century, the number of households controlled by lone parents increased in the United Kingdom. This was reinforced by an increase in the number of divorces as well as people getting children out of wedlock. Despite the number of households comprising of lone parents going up, people still had the perception that children hailing from such families would suffer both economically and emotionally. To curb this rapid increase, most of the welfare officials in United Kingdom came up with legislations that made it hard for agencies to place children with single-parent families (Herman para. 2).
By midcentury, Freudian ideologies had pervaded the entire country. As a result, welfare workers used the ideas in conjunction with therapeutic technique to get homes for all children that were found not to have parents. For families to be conventionally accepted, they had to be headed by both parents (father and mother). The couples had to be married and had to have come into a consensus on the father providing for the family. This fact made it had for single-parents to be given children despite them applying for them (Silva 87). The main argument was that such parents did not really need children and that is why they were reluctant to get married. Welfare agents also feared that the children would be subjected to poor parenting as the parents would be engaged in activities aimed at providing for the family.
Generally, in people’s mind, married couples were perceived to be the biological parents of their babies and not adopters. Single-parents were greatly stigmatized leading to most of those who got children out of wedlock handing them to married couples. It was easier for these people to legitimize the birth of the child than the single-parents could. Most of the unwed mothers found it shameful having children out of marriage. Living with these children added shame to the mothers. Nevertheless, some lone parents still adopted children at the time. However, most of those who adopted children preferred to get them from their relatives than from people unknown to them.
The move to recruit lone parents surfaced in early 1960s. This was supported by people who called for rebellion against consideration of special needs during adoption. They argued that children who did not get married couples to adopt them also required to be brought up in a family. These included children that suffered from retarded growth, those that were mentally handicapped as well as those that were born by parents from different races. Getting adopters for these children was a big problem. This is because most of those that wished to adopted children looked for those that were healthy and that came from the white origin.
The first organised attempt to recruit single parents was conducted by Los Angeles Bureau of Adoption. The move sought to get adopters from the African American backgrounds for children from the same race that had not gotten an opportunity to be adopted by married couples. For a period of two years, the agency managed to secure homes for thirty nine children who were adopted by single-mothers. In addition, one child was adopted by a single-father. This number was insignificant in comparison to the number of African American children who needed to be placed under adoption. Later, the idea was extended to other countries across the globe.
Between 1990 and 2000, the number of households ran by single parents in United Kingdom increased significantly. There are those who believe that this was intensified by the establishment of policies that made it possible for single parents to have access to welfare services. Such parents would have access to financial support and other benefits (Hederman & Sherk para. 1-4). As a result, bring up children in single-families was not a hard responsibility as the parent was relieved from the burden of having to look for employment to provide for the child. Nevertheless, today most of these benefits have ceased being extended to lone parents. This has not reduced the rate at which lone parent families are emerging in the country. There is a possibility that a number of social complexities such as the right for women to engage in employment and freedom are contributing to this increase.
Since time in memorial, single-parents have suffered from social stigma. In spite of how they got into this status, people have negative attributes towards single-parent families. This makes it hard for such parents to identify their roles in the family. For single-mothers, the problem is further intensified by the fact that it is difficult for them to secure jobs. This makes them suffer from role strain as they struggle to acquire jobs and at the same time attend to their parental obligations. Most of the single-parent families are from poor backgrounds (Fitzgerald & Ribar 243). As a result, the parents can not be in a position to pay for daycare facilities. The difference in wages paid to men and women in U.K. leads to the low income earned by single-mothers. This problem calls for establishment of public policies that would ensure equality with respect to wages paid to single-parents of both genders.
Ideological Perspective
An unbalanced number of women running the lone parent families hail from the poor backgrounds. Most of these women are in most cases discriminated against with respect to sex, rank and race. The major challenge facing this group is financial handicaps. There are beliefs about the “place” of women in the society. These ideologies have incapacitated women who are single-parents making it hard for them to secure positions in the society and participate in workplaces. Generally, these women are classified as “others” in the society (Sands & Nuccio para. 1). Consequently, all the families that are headed by single-mothers are placed in the category of “others” when it comes to classifying the households. This classification has intensified the inequality experienced in lone parents’ households. Generally, it is difficult for these women to secure well paying jobs and they only turn to jobs that earn them meager wages. Such parents result to seeking assistance from welfares. The fact that most of the welfares have ceased operating makes it hard for the women to bring up their children.
Today, most of the women stick to a feminist ideology that asserts that women has the right to engage in a relationship with any man of their choice, get pregnant and bring up their children under lone parent families. They believe that through this approach, they can oblige men to support them in bringing up the children despite them not getting married to the men. Women believe that any person opposed to this ideology is an extremist (Ellwood & Jencks pp, 45-62).
In spite of women trying to support their ideologies, they have been faced with strong opposition from religious leaders and open-minded egalitarians. There is a tag of war between male and females on who to dictate morality on the other. There are men who argue that the current rate of increase in the number of women heading single families calls for men to dictate morality on women. On the other hand, women believe that it is the high time that they forced men to support their families despite them opting to live as single parents. Some men argue that for equality to be there, they should also be given the right to choose from supporting or not supporting the single-mothers if they decline to get married.
The struggle by women to ensure that men comply with their opinions has intensified the gap between them. For decades, people have tried to fight the existence of inequality between men and women. However, this tag of war has led to more men abdicating their responsibilities after impregnating their partners. The ideology that men have to support their partners who opt to lead their life as single-mother has led to men declining to take the responsibility. Eventually, women who opt to live as single-mothers after getting children have ended up bearing all the burden of bring up the children.
Current Policies
Due to increase in the number of single-parents across the globe, governments from varied countries have started coming up with policies aimed at alleviating the suffering experienced by children brought up in such families. Currently, United Kingdom’s government has come up with policies aimed at increasing the rate of maternal employment. This is to ensure that every single-parent regardless of gender secures a job so as to be able to provide for his or her children. The government has also come up with a government-supplied income transfer (Smeeding pp. 134-151). This is aimed at cutting down on child poverty in lone parents’ households.
In addition, there are policies that addresses income needs of single-parents. These are policies such as those that make it mandatory for the child to be supported by both parents despite them not living together (Edin & Lein pp. 253-267). This policy states that in case of divorce or a child is born out of the wedlock, both parents have the duty to maintain and support the child. The non-custodian parent; be it the father or the mother is bound to ensure that he or she offers all the required support to the child. This policy gives the minimum financial support that the non-custodian parent has to give to the child.
United Kingdom’s government has made numerous alterations on its welfare system. Welfare funding is currently determined based on previous year’s expenditures. The welfare agencies have been given the freedom to control the order in which these funds are disbursed to the relevant beneficiaries. It is expected that by the end of two years, every beneficiary has to have secured a job. No household is expected to benefit from the welfare for more than five years. This policy has significantly led to reduction in the amount of financial support that used to be provided to single-parent families in the country (Baker & Tippin 54).
It has been observed that more than 73,000 single-parent households belong to people who work in the military. This group of people comprise of employees with heavy responsibilities that they have been entrusted with by the state. It is difficult for them to have time with their children. The government understands the importance of parenting role and as a result it has come up with policies to help these parents manage their parental roles as well as their military responsibilities.
For many years, this group of single-parents has been neglected when it comes to establishing and adjusting the available policies to help lone parents cope with their working and parental responsibilities (Wilson para. 2-7). Currently, the military has established support systems for lone parents working in the military. They have come up with child and youth centers. This has made it possible for them to increase the number of working hours to cater for military programs. There are also online facilities that help military children to tackle their assignments and tutorials. This has been of great significance to the parents who in most cases are occupied with other responsibilities and they have no time to help their children tackle their assignments.
Conclusion
From the research, it is very clear that a lot need to be done so as to ensure that families comprising of lone parents also lead a comfortable life. Since the government came up with policies that require lone parents to enjoy welfare support for five years, it has been hard for lone parents (especially single mothers) to bring up their children. The policies also led to the amount of financial support that was being given to this group being reduced. With more households emerging that comprise of lone parents, this fund has not been sufficient. There is need for the government and employers to come up with policies that will give these parents a flexible working environment so that they are able to balance their parental responsibilities with work.
Until the country strikes equality in employment for all lone parents, the current practice still appears to be oppressive. This is especially to single-mothers who are paid low wages compared to men.
Works Cited
Baker, Maureen & Tippin, David. Poverty, Social Assistance, and the Employability of Mothers: Restructuring Welfare States. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999.
Edin, Kathryn & Lein, Laura. “Work, Welfare and Single Mothers’ Economic Survival Strategies.” American Sociological Review 62.2 (1997): 253-267.
Ellwood, David T & Jencks, Christopher. “The Spread of Single-Parent Families in the United States since 1960.” Faculty Research Working Papers Series 245 (2004): 45-62.
Fitzgerald, John M. & Ribar, David C. Transitions in Welfare Participation and Female Headship. Washington: Centre for Economic Studies, 2004.
Hederman, Rea & Sherk, James. “Who earns the minimum wage – single parents or suburban teenagers?” 2006.Web.
Herman, Ellen. “Single parent adoptions. “ 2007.
Sands, Roberta G & Nuccio, Kathleen E. “Mother-headed single-parent families: a feminist perspective. 2000.
Sigle-Rushton, Wendy & Waldfogel, Jane. “Motherhood and Women’s Earnings in Anglo-American, Continental European and Nordic Countries.” Luxembourg Income Study Working Paper Series 263 (2006): 87-94.
Silva, Elizabeth Bortolaia. Good enough mothering: Feminist perspective on lone mothering. Oxon: Routledge, 1996.
Smeeding, Timothy. “Government Programs and Social Outcomes: The United States in Comparative Perspective.” Luxembourg Income Study Working Paper Series 261 (2005): 134-151.
Wilson, Elaine. “Single parents juggle military, home demands.” American Forces Press Service. 2010. Web.