Things never stay the same, society changes and so does family dynamics. Opportunities and resources are now more available than they ever were. No longer do people have to stay in relationships that don’t work. In relationships that are toxic or dangerous. So, whilst 50 years ago, you were an outcast if you were a single parent, nowadays its more accepted.
The ideal is that a child is brought up in a loving 2 parent family. But this ideal isn’t always easily achieved. We don’t all make the right choices, there are tragedies and their choices.
But just because you are raising a child single handed doesn’t mean they will turn out to be a nightmare and a blot on societies landscape. Though if you, or society, keep telling the child this they will believe this all they can be.
There are negatives but let’s focus on the positives instead. I could, and have, joked before how there is on less person controlling the remote control or how there is more room the bed. But today I want to be more serious.
As a single parent, I tend to evolve the children more in decisions. Whereas before I and their Dad would choose things from where we would go on days out to what colour carpet to buy, now I involve the children. They get an input on things from the smallest things likes what’s for tea to furniture choices. Though Bob the Builder carpet was luckily out of stock so we had to go with the second choice. So, the children are learning about decision making from the safety of the home environment.
As there is one adult doing the role of two around the house I have learned to prioritize. It’s a necessity. So naturally, the children have learned about prioritizing things in life. Will this make them better adults? Hopefully. They know you can’t be everything to everyone and sometimes you have prioritized.
Also with prioritizing comes designation. Smaller responsibilities are given to the children. Children get to feel the sense of accomplishment with everyday things. Though I am not totally sure they are feeling the accomplishment love when they get to put the rubbish out each week.
These things are essential as well rounded adults and I am not saying that youngsters don’t learn these things in two-parent families. It just in one parent families they are more at the forefront.
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