Lone parent families

There has been a dramatic
Increase in lone parent families
During the last century. This has been for multiple reasons including; a reduced stigma on divorce, feminism, a more secularized society and a better image of single parenthood. Lone parent families bring pros and cons depending on which angle you look at.

The new right argues that the ‘nuclear family’ is the cornerstone of society and that lone parent families are to blame for societies negatives. They believe that this type of family effects the individual in numerous negative ways such as; underachievement, living below the poverty line, social problems and higher crime rates. However, a major effect of lone parent families is the lack of both role models in the picture. The child misses out usually the farther figure (as most single parent families are headed by the mother) and as a result the usual ‘breadwinner’ is absent which leaves a reliance on the welfare state, and the children miss out on a farther figure which can result in problems in later the later stages of life.

However, this cannot be generalized for all lone parent families, and would be inaccurate to do so. In many lone parent families, the absence of the father figure, encourages females to become strong independent women, and have less reliance towards men. Feminists see lone parent families headed by a woman as positive as it does not suppress the mother’s role and expectations as the woman ultimately has to do everything. In a traditional nuclear family, the woman usually upholds the ‘expressive role’ which involves creating home comfort and giving the other family members emotional support however in a lone parent family, the mother has to also take the farther role on, this is usually mirrored by the child and shows women are capable in fulfilling a man’s role.

The new right also believe that