by: Teri Worten
Even in today's sophisticated society, single parent families are often stigmatized and thoughtlessly perceived as not entirely as functional as two parent families. Most single moms can verify how such of a stigma seems to linger over our heads like some dark, ominous cloud. For instance, men assume because we have children, we are desperate for husbands, schools believe us to be operating with a disability and very few churches have created ministries exclusively for us.
I could go on.
By some, our families are viewed as abnormal, incomplete or fragmented. Our homes are called “broken” and are indirectly associated with producing defective or maladjusted children. The sad reality is that the majority of the people who raise these criticisms have had limited exposure with successful single parent families and are narrowly interpreting “so called” research written by people who know little about us or the “human” side of our families. Allow me to be among the first to tell you that contrary to popular opinion, most single moms succeed wonderfully at raising healthy, happy well-adjusted children. In numerous categories, our family types outshine our two parent counterparts.
By no means am I glamorizing single parenting as an ideal family situation. Two-parent families do create a continuum of support invaluable to healthy youth development.
Nonetheless, the story doesn’t end there.
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