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The Changing American Family

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Submitted By ElodieG
Words 644
Pages 3
Elodie Garcia
Anna Kitching
Eng 1001
2015-10-25

Over the past 50 years, the definition of the term “family” has changed radically. The changing American family structure comes from the family division due to divorce and the responsibility of single parents in raising children. The meaning of family ranges from a proof that the social structure of America can meet social, political and economic changes and thrives. For a mother, the financial responsibilities are immense when she raises her child alone. Lynn Olcott, a teacher at Auburn Correctional Facility in New York, stated in her essay “The Ballad of a Single Mother” the trials and inevitable difficulties that comes with being a single mother by playing both parental figure roles. According to her, the financial struggle is mainly due to gender inequalities in workplace and being a one-income family. In a way, the fact of working forces her to put her son in nursery school, which then cost more money and create a vicious circle from a financial perspective. Rebecca M. Blank, a professor of economics at Nothwestern University, adheres to the same topic in her article “Absent Fathers: Why Don’t We Ever Talk About The Unmarried Men?” by calling attention to the problem that the “lack of parental support” form absent fathers “is a major factor contributing to the poverty of single mothers and their children”(Blank, 440). They commonly agree that if the father was in the family home or gave contribution such as child support, it would be easier to the family to struggle and not be disturbed. For them, the absence of a father places not only on the mother but also on the child. Rebecca M. Blank states and assumes that poverty and lack of education are correlated and hold a big part of the absent father population. Lynn Olcott agrees with Blank’s view on runaway fathers and, in addition, she blames the society

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