Motherhood is certainly the hardest job in the world. Since parenting is such a huge responsibility, traditionally, it is seen that the more help a person has in raising a child, the better. This is why parenthood is traditionally thought of in the context of marriage. However, with many changes in the world, it is becoming more and more common for women to parent on their own – as single mothers (or singled mothers, for that matter).
More and more children today are being raised by single mothers. In fact, it is becoming more and more culturally acceptable due to its prevalence. Though single moms and their children may experience some stigma in many parts of the world, there is a growing movement to accept this non-traditional family setup. In many industrialized countries, about 16% of children are raised by a single parent. In the United States, this figure jumps to about 25%.
Causes
Historically, single motherhood came to be because of the death of the spouse. Over time, it has become a result of an unplanned pregnancy, while in other instances, it is a conscious decision made out of the desire to have a child (hence adoption or the use of surrogacy). In the United States, up to 10% of adoptions are done by single moms. The main cause of single motherhood now is due to divorce or separation from the biological father.
Single mothers in the US
In the United States, less than 10% of children were raised in a single parent household (usually the mother) during the 1960s. Four decades later, this number has spiked to about 28%, with almost 73% of single parent households run my mothers. There are more than ten million single moms in America today and in the last year, 30% of births were from single mothers. For African-American children in the country, as much as 72% of children are being raised by single mothers. Of American single moms, 45% are due to divorce or separation, while under 2% are due to the death of a spouse and 34% entered parenthood unmarried.
Single mothers in Europe
In the European Union, the average number of single mom households is at 3.7%. In the United Kingdom, 25% of children are in single parent homes, 90% of which are headed by a single mother, or one in 15 British homes. In fact, Britain has one of the most number of single mom households in Europe (6.7%), according to Eurostat. The Baltic states of Latvia (5.6% of single mom households), Estonia (7%) and Lithuania (5.5%) and the country of Ireland (5.9%) also have a high percent of single moms compared to other European nations. German, Austrian and Belgian single mothers aren’t as prevalent, due to their higher ageing population.
Single mothers around the world
31% of Australian babies are born to an unmarried mother. In South Korea, the growing number of single moms has given rise to Single Mom’s Day celebrated in May. It is aimed to help remove the stigma of single motherhood, wherein 90% of adoptions in the country are from unmarried women with unplanned pregnancies.
Around the world, the majority of single mothers can be found in Latin America, Sweden and South Africa. In Brazil, about 3.4% of households are headed by a single mom. On the other hand, single moms are not as common in the Middle East and in Asia, although there is a growing trend.
In many Middle Eastern countries, single moms are still not as socially accepted as in other cultures. Fortunately, the children are not looked down upon. For example, Islamic teachings say that children born out of wedlock do not share the sins of their parents and should therefore be treated the same as other children, which is similar on some level to Jewish teachings.
However, acceptance is still not widespread. In Lebanon, a single mother cannot register the child to become a citizen unless the father is Lebanese and has acknowledged the child. In Saudi Arabia, there is still a strong stigma experienced by single moms and their children.
The economic impact
The majority of the single moms around the world work, leaving their children at home. Single moms in Turkey and Malta on the other hand, are not always working, unlike the many of the single moms in Japan and in the United States. In the US, 80% are working, half of which a employed full-time, while about a third are working part-time.
Unfortunately, single moms are also more likely to experience economic hardship. In the United States, 27% of single mom households are below the poverty line while 63% suffer from poverty. In the UK, more than half of single parent households live below the poverty line.
Challenges
Clearly, there are many challenges that are experienced by single moms in a higher degree, whether single parenthood is borne out of death, decision or divorce. The biggest challenge is economic.
There is the tremendous burden of responsibility in raising a child not shared with a co-parent, whether economic, physical or emotional. There is a monologue, rather than a dialogue that occurs since there is no other parent to discuss ideas, problems and other concerns with when it comes to childrearing.
Support is not always available, whether from other family members who can babysit or step in, or through social programs that provide day-care of welfare assistance. For those who are single parents because of divorce, there is the matter of having to co-parent from a distance and having to continue to deal with a former spouse you couldn’t get along with in the first place.
Personal lives also have to take a backseat to parenthood, leaving many single moms unable to date or find personal fulfillment outside of parenthood.
Salute to single moms
Single parents aren’t more special than other parents, since all parents deserve love, respect and appreciation. However, regardless of the conditions that brought about single parenthood, single moms deserve a nod for many things: for being both mom and dad to their children; for opting to parent regardless of social stigma, economic, physical, emotional and mental hardships and personal cost; for showing exemplary strength, determination and fortitude; and for choosing to love and raise their children and being the best parent they can be.
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