lone mother households

Examples of lone mother households in the following topics:

• The Feminization of Poverty

  • Nearly all microcredit loans are given to women, reflecting an awareness that in poor households women are often responsible for care of the family and may be the only head of household.
  • Women's increasing share of poverty is related to the rising incidence of lone mother households.
  • Lone mother households, or households without a second parent or guardian, are the households with the highest risk of poverty.
  • Female headed households (where no male is present) are most susceptible to poverty because they have fewer income earners to provide financial support within the household.
  • Lone mother households relate to gender inequality issues as women are more susceptible to poverty and lack essential life needs in comparison to men.

• Unmarried Mothers

  • With the rise of single-parent households, unmarried mothers have become more common in the United States.
  • One recent trend illustrating the changing nature of families is the rise in prevalence of the single-parent household.
  • The prevalence of single mothers as primary caregiver is a part of traditional parenting trends between mothers and fathers.
  • Unmarried mothers are thus more likely to cohabit with another adult.
  • Discuss the factors involved in the increasing number of single-parent households

• Family Structures

  • The nuclear family is considered the "traditional" family and consists of a mother, father, and the children.
  • The percentage of married-couple households with children under 18 has declined to 23.5% of all households in 2000 from 25.6% in 1990, and from 45% in 1960.
  • However, 64 percent of children still reside in a two-parent, household as of 2012.
  • In fact, 24 percent of children live with just their mother, and 4 percent live with just their father.
  • An American family composed of the mother, father, children, and extended family.

• Gender Messages in the Family

  • In many American families, the father serves as the breadwinner, while the mother maintains the household.
  • This teaches their children that the expected gender roles for men and women require the father to work and the mother to remain in the domestic sphere.
  • For example, a child who grows up in a two-parent household with a mother who acts as a homemaker and a father who acts as the breadwinner may internalize these gender roles, regardless of whether or not the family is directly teaching them.

• New Developments in Families

  • Legal reforms in the 1960s and 1970s expanded the rights of nonmarital children and unwed mothers, breaking down the distinction between "legitimate" and "illegitimate".
  • By 1997, 40% of births to unmarried American women were intentional, and, despite a still prominent gender gap in pay, women are able to survive as single mothers.
  • Thus, three generation households are more financially secure environments for raising children than are two generation households if it is a single parent who is trying to raise children alone.
  • Children raised in same-sex parented households (or mixed-orientation households - households composed of two or more people of varied sexual identities) are no more or less likely to be homosexual than children raised in heterosexual households.
  • This figure illustrates that, while the number of children being born to "unwed" mothers has increased over time, many of those children are born to women who are cohabiting.

• The Decline of the Traditional Family

  • One parent households, cohabitation, same sex families, and voluntary childless couples are increasingly common.
  • By 1997, 40% of births to unmarried American women were intentional and, despite a still prominent gender gap in pay, women were able to survive as single mothers.
  • Same sex couples, while becoming increasingly more common, still only account for about 1 percent of American households, according to 2010 Census data.
  • About 0.5 percent of American households were same-sex couples in 2000, so this number has doubled, and it is expected to continuing increasing by the next Census data.
  • This figure shows that roughly 5% of households in the United States are made up of cohabiting couples of various types: heterosexual, gay, or, lesbian.

• Change in Marriage Rate

  • The percentage of family households below the poverty line in 2011 was 15.1%, higher than in 2000 when it was 11.3%.
  • This results in a high percentage of single mother households among African Americans compared with other ethnic groups (White, African American, Native Americans, Asian, Hispanic).
  • This can lead a child to become closer to his/her mother, the only caregiver.
  • Yet one parent households are also more susceptible to economic difficulties.
  • Nevertheless, the percentage of family households below the poverty line in 2011 was 15.1%, higher than in 2000 when it was 11.3%.

• The Functions of a Family

  • Marriage sometimes establishes the legal father of a woman's child or the legal mother of a man's child; it oftentimes gives the husband or his family control over the wife's sexual services, labor, and property.
  • In societies with a sexual division of labor, marriage, and the resulting relationship between a husband and wife, is necessary for the formation of an economically productive household .
  • In societies with a sexual division of labor, marriage, and the resulting relationship between a husband and wife, is necessary for the formation of an economically productive household.

• The Importance of Paid and Unpaid Work

  • Another important type of unpaid work is work done by family members to maintain a household.
  • Unpaid domestic work has traditionally been done by women (e.g., wives and mothers).
  • Their work may include cooking, cleaning, rearing children, or managing household expenses.

• The Cross-Cultural Perspective

  • A 2010 study by the United Nations Development Programme found that 62% of Chileans are opposed to full gender equality and expressed the belief that women should limit themselves to the roles of mother and wife.
  • A common Japanese proverb that continues to influence gender roles is "good wife, wise mother. " The proverb reflects the still common social belief, encouraged by men and women alike, that it is in the woman's, her children's, and society's best interests for her to stay home and devote herself to her children.
  • In most households, women are responsible for family budgets and make independent decisions about the education, careers, and life styles of their families.
  • Immediately after World War II, the common image of womanhood was that of a secretary who becomes a housewife and mother after marriage.