Single Parenting
When exploring adoption, it is important to look into adoption alternatives to make sure that you are making the right choice for you and your child.
Single Parenting
Ask yourself the following questions:
- What do I want out of life for myself?
- Could I handle a child and a job at the same time? How?
- Would I be willing to cut back my social life and spend more time at home with my child?
- Would I be willing to cut back my expenses for clothing, hair, manicures/pedicures, cell phones, etc. to be willing to afford the minimum a child will require?
- Can I afford to support a child (you cannot depend on the support of the father)?
- Can I realistically parent this child (ALL BY MYSELF) for the next 18 years?
- Am I willing to give the next 18 years of my life to raising this child?
- Do I have the physical, financial, emotional and spiritual support of my family for the next 18 years to raise this child?
- What goals do I have in life? How will I realistically accomplish those goals while taking care of another human being at the same time?
Asking for help from your family in order to single parent your child may be an option for you. Be sure to ask these family members how seriously committed they are to you and your child- now and at least 18 years into the future. How do they plan on assisting you with your goals? Placement of your child with a family member may also be an option for you.
A Fatherless Home- Facts to Consider
Here are a few facts to keep in mind when considering a single parent lifestyle
- Children in father-absent homes are 5x more likely to be poor. In 2002, 7.8% of children in married-couple families were living in poverty, compared with 38.4% of children in female-householder families.
- Even after controlling for income, youth in father-absent households still had significantly higher odds of incarceration than those in mother-father families.
- Youths who never had a father in the household experienced the highest odds.
- Studies show that students from single-parent families reported higher rates of drinking and smoking as well as higher scores on delinquency and aggression tests when compared to boys from two-parent households.
- Being raised by a single mother raises the risk of teen pregnancy, marrying with less than a high school degree, and forming a marriage when both parents have less than a high school degree.
- Compared to living with both parents, living in a single-parent home doubles the risk that a child will suffer physical, emotional or educational neglect. An analysis of child abuse cases in a nationally representative sample of 42 countries found that children from single-parent families are more likely to be victims of physical and sexual abuse than children who live with both biological parents.
- Fatherless children are twice as likely to repeat a grade and/or drop out of school.
- A study of 3,400 middle schoolers indicated that not living with both biological parents quadruples the risk of emotional problems in students.
