CHILDREN IN SINGLE PARENT HOMES

In the twenty-first century, there is also the greater possibility of many single parent homes. Single parents (and many will be single mothers) have the Herculean task of providing everything for the child on their own. Often such children will be alone at home for long hours and even after the mother has returned, she will have a whole lot of domestic work. Such a mother will have to be extra careful about shaping the child and helping him to a self-confident person assured of his self-worth. Children can feel more insecure in an incomplete home. The single parent may not be very well off, financially. Children form such homes often avoid social gatherings and tend to be loners as they experience a sense if inadequacy. A thoughtful single parent can take care to ensure that the child gets everything within her means. With care, such a child can grow up with good feelings of self-worth. There are certain facts which all parents need to remember about personality; firstly, it is not one specific attribute but rather the quality of the individual’s total behaviour. Secondly, it is not something which changes overnight or by a quick course on personality development. It is something that grows with the child, with physical maturation and mental development. There factors are important: hereditary endowments, early experiences within the family, and events in later life. For example, children who learn to think of themselves as inferior due to the treatment they receive in the home or outside the home learn to adjust in ways markedly different form those who were brought up with a more favourable self image. Similarly, relationship with parents often determines the kind of attitudes that the child will develop with members of both sexes later in life . A girl’s initial attitude towards boys and men is greatly modified by her father’s reactions to her and a boy’s first lessons in relating to girls are learnt in his relationship with his mother.