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Are Single Parent Homes a Dysfunctional Model of Family?

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Are Single Parent Homes a Dysfunctional Model of Family?

According to a recent study from CBS, the United States has the highest divorce rate of any country at 45%. Due to this high rate of divorce, many families find that there is an imbalance of family roles in these newly created single parent households. Being a single parent has its own set of challenges for the individual and creates challenges for the family such as, spending smaller amounts of time with your children, having an excessive work load and disrupting the wellbeing of the children.
Often times, single parents find that they are unable to spend as much time with their children. This can be caused by having to share their time with the parent no longer living in the home, multiple children living in the home, and the custodial parent having to either take on a new job or an additional job. In a divorce one parent is awarded custody of the children and the non-custodial parent is often granted visitation. This visitation can be multiple times during the week, once a week, a few times a month and so on. While this time is important for the child and non-custodial parent, it is time that the custodial parent is missing out on with their child. Being a single parent to multiple children brings on a set of different challenges by not being able to spend as much one-on-one time with each child. After all, the single parent is only one person. The single parent may find that they are either entering the work force from an extended break or have to work an additional job in order to make ends meet for their family. The time the single parent spends working equates to less time at home with their children.
The extended workload and stress of being a single parent can also cause negative effects on the children and on the individual. Single parents usually have only one income to rely upon

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