New Kinds of Families
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There are more and more single parent families, or families made up of multiple marriages or relationships on either side. Indeed, the definition of ôfamilyö has undergone a drastic change from the 1950s concept of the nuclear family (father, mother, child) to one that is more loosely defined as groups of people connected by blood and marriage; sometimes connected simply by virtue of the fact that even though these two criteria are not met, they are ôconsidered family.ö In the midst of this knew type of family a new type of child has developed. This paper will examine the effects that this type of atmosphere has on the developing child, particularly in regards to how single parents effect their developing children. According to the 2000 Census data, single parent families and extended family groups are on the rise. The number of families headed by single mothers has increased 25 percent since 1990. . . Contributing to the numbers are a high rate of divorce and out-of-wedlock births. . .about a third of all babies were born to unmarried women, compared with 3.8 percent in 1940. Demographers now predict that more than half of the youngsters born in the 1990s will spend at least part of their childhood in a single-parent home. (Newsweek, 2001). In a society that is already moving quickly, led by distracted and over-extended parents, the nature of childhood has undergone a profound change. Behaviors that were considered "at-risk" are now "normal" and more and more chi
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home.
For example, the same study that cites interparental conflict as a major stressor for children points out that once the divorced parents seek support and counseling to help ease the conflict between them that the children soon become well adjusted to the divorce and are better able to develop normally (Shifflett & Cummings, 1999). Additionally, another study finds that the physical, sexual and psychological abuse that tends to occur in the single parent families that live below poverty level can be circumvented by a simple nurse visitation program. ôThis program. . . can reduce the number of subsequent pregnancies, the use of welfare, child abuse and neglect, and criminal behavior on the part of low-income, unmarried mothers for up to 15 years after the birth of the first childö (Olds, Eckenrode, Henderson, Jr., Kitzman, et al, 1997, p. 278).
On a practical level, there are all levels of support for the single parent in such areas as continuing education, and travel and vacation, as well as support groups that help single parents find others like themselves as well as childcare. For example, in Boston there is a school, known as the Urban College of Boston, that caters to the untraditional student, such as the working s
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1358
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)
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