By, Abdulla Aldhaheri and Abdul Aziz Alshamsi
My friend and I talked to another friend about the topic of single-parent households versus two-parent households.
Us: So, what do you think about the differences between a single-parent household and a two-parent household?
Friend: I think that a two-parent household is a much better idea. But I know that this might not be the case for many people, as some people get divorced or one of the spouses passes away and they have to raise children in a single-parent household. This is something that can be difficult for both the parent as well as the children. The single parent would have to go to work as well as look after the child and the child would only have to contend with one parent.
Us: Do you think that there should be some initiatives from the government that should be there to help support single-parent households?
Friend: Yes, definitely. Many of the single-parent households have problems making ends meet because of how they have to work several jobs and also take care of their children. If they are not able to do so, they would not be able to have a good life. The government should help such people so that they are able to live a good quality of life without compromising the care of the children.
Reflecting on this, it can be said that many people tend to have this similar idea about how single parenting is something that is quite difficult. It has to be noted that in the US economy, we find that people have to do more than one minimum-wage job to be able to afford a good life for themselves as well as their children. This means that the children often end up being neglected and this can cause many issues for the children later on in their life. This is why it is important to advocate for people to have a two-parent family more. If people get divorced or widowed, they should seek out new partners and try to establish a traditional family again.
Other than that, it is important to note that children are the ones that tend to suffer the most in such families and households in which there is only one parent. This is because children need both a mother as well as a father in the house and to look up to. Mothers and fathers both have different roles that they play in a child’s life. A child tends to look up to a father figure for support and up to the mother figure for comfort. This is why it is also important for the families to be able to provide both these roles for the children. The children must not miss out on this and the parents must try everything in their power to have a traditional family.
This conversation challenged the different perspectives in that it allowed me to see how my friend thought about these two types of families and how this is something that not many people tend to consider when they talk about the rights of the people. Other than that, it is also important for the government to intervene and to provide relief for such single-parent households and families. This could mean providing the families with some kind of benefits that can either be financial or otherwise, such as paying the families a certain amount every month or giving them such benefits as food stamps, or other subsidies from the government to make lives easier for them. This is something that is important for the physical as well as mental health of the single parents as well as the children in such families.
We also asked another friend who was living in a single-parent household.
Us: Do you feel that your life was any different growing up in a single-parent household compared to other people around you who grew up in a two-parent household?
Friend 2: Yes, I did feel it many times. This was mostly because of how I would see other people in my classroom as well as in my circle of friends who would go out with their parents as a family. There would always be two parents with them and this made me feel bad about my life sometimes and I wished I had both my father and mother to go out with me. My parents got divorced when I was five years old and I live with my mom until I graduated high school. It was tough also in that I had to see my mom struggle quite a lot. She had to make sure that she was looking after us at home and she also had to go out and make a living for us. It was difficult for all of us because we were all in it together.
It was tough also in that I had to see my mom struggle quite a lot. She had to make sure that she was looking after us at home and she also had to go out and make a living for us. It was difficult for all of us because we were all in it together.
However, I think that being part of a single-parent household also gave me many benefits. For example, I was able to learn how to fend for myself and it gave me a lot more confidence in myself. I had to learn to do so many things on my own, such as cooking for myself as well as taking care of the house in terms of the chores that I think it prepared me for my life ahead.
We learned from our friend that no one would prefer living in a single-parent household. The way he described how he felt among his close friends actually touched us. We can’t deny that having a single parent is hard but when you have a strong and self-dependent mother like his, it might help relieve the pain. We are really proud of every single parent in the world who gives their best to their children to make them feel not different from people with two-parents.