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Christine Kim
Professor Vana DerOhanessian
English 114B
4 May 2014
Childs Responsibility In a Single Parent Family
According to KidsHealth, more than 20 million children live in a single-parent home, and
it can be emotionally and mentally overwhelming for the child. What is different about a single-
parent family and both parents present is that single parents will not have as much time to spend
with their child compared to both parents. With the child being independent most of the time, it
will allow the child to become more mature and learn how to make responsibilities at a minor
age. Although a young child may not understand why their single parent always have to work
and depend on them, they can still cause a change by helping out around the house and be
competent to learn how to take care of themselves as their responsibility in the family.
Considering the fact that single parents have to do double the work with their jobs to
provide for the family, a child could be capable to cooperate around the house and carry out the
duty to do chores. Due to the parent not being present, children at an early age would have to
commit in achieving their tasks without knowing it. For example, while their parent is working, a
child at home can wash the dishes, do the laundry, study, vacuum, and just do the simple things
parents expect their children to do. In this case, when the single parent comes home from work,
he or she would not have to be stressed by overworking and be able to spend quality time with
their children. It is important for a child to have these kinds of responsibilities because if they
just expect their parents to do everything, they will not be able to grow as a mature adult. As
stated in the article of BetterHealth, The positive thing about the relationship between a parent
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and a child is that the child and parent will come to grow closer. This line signifies the
opportunity that the parent can form with their child by showing appreciation every time the
child accomplishes a goal. By doing so, it will allow the child to grow to be self-reliant and fully
develop as an adult faster than other children. It is also important to know that the parent has to
do their part in advance by being interested in their childs education and learning to give
rewards and disciplining them. Along with this statement, it will give motivation for young
children to want to make their parents proud. Likewise, children can also assist to cook dinner
with the parent because they might either be exhausted from having to engage in their work all
day. Having the company to spend time, the parent can give positive feedback and show that
every action their children are doing are significant in their family everyday lives.
Even though children have a domestic responsibility by aiding around the house, they
should also learn how to cope with their emotional feelings when living in a single-parent home.
In the article, Single Parent Households - How Does it Affect the Children, Ketteringham states,
Children who have experienced through a divorce may have problems with depression,
emotional stress, and difficulties in school. The involvement with having to deal with a divorce
of a parent shows that young children are not able to handle these kinds of circumstances by
themselves, and that they may go through a mental breakdown. In my experience, having friends
you can rely on is very essential through sentimental stress because you can rant to them about
certain family problems youre going through, which releases your stress from inside. I agree
with Ketteringham because my parents have divorced when I was at a young age, and I was
going through emotional depression without realizing it. The only alternative I knew that was
going to benefit me was that I would have to shield my feelings by learning how to be positive
and hopeful for the future. In the long run, it is the childs responsibility to know how to control
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their emotions because the parents cant control how their own child is feeling. By achieving
this, the child will be able to feel contented with their lives and be optimistic with their parents.
In the time of learning how to be emotionally stable, the child will also have an academic
responsibility. Correspondingly, the child will not be able to depend on their parents to aid them
on their educational work. For instance, I wasnt able to do my best in schoolwork throughout
high school because I had to deal with my father not being around, which developed into a
single-family issue. As a result of having to feel abandoned without a father, it was burdensome
to even think about excelling in my studies, when I did not even have a father-figure to look up
too. Furthermore, it was very arduous for me to endure and bottle up my feelings because none
of my companions knew what I was going through, which led into depression. According to the
article, Parental Tendency Towards Taking Responsibility, Sengul concludes, While parents
having an average level of relation with their children talked about homework with their
children, parents having a bad relationship did not talk about homework. Having the relation of
no physical or intimate contact with the parent gives no growth or development for the child to
be held responsible for his or her goals in school or life. This relates to my academic experience
as a child in a single-parent family because I was not able to communicate with neither my father
nor mother about any of the homework and tests that I needed help on. It proves Senguls
argument that having a rough connection in the family leads to no improvement in being able to
excel in a job or being successful. Which then made me realize that I was depending on my
parents too much and expected that if they cared about my grades, then I would start doing
better. Mentally, I had to change this idea to realize that I had full obligation on my own grades
and not blame it toward my parents. As I got older, during my junior/senior year of high school, I
started to be more confident of my single-parent family lifestyle and worked harder in my
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studies. Since then, I started showing improvement, and my mom was able to give me an
extensive support system, by showing more affection and care to do better and was proud of
what I did. Even the simple little things can drastically change how a childs life can be.
One inspiration I found who had dealt with this kind of single-parent family situation was
Barack Obama. I was surprised that even the President of the United States had lived through the
hardships of going through a parents divorce just like I did. He is the inspiration to many
low/middle-income families and the minority because he is the first African American to become
the President. Furthermore, in the article, 3 Successful Famous People, Coppa states His single
mother brought him up when his parents divorced at the age of two. The testimony of his
mother leaving him at an adolescent age shows that he had to work hard and accept the
responsibilities at an early age to help support the family. In addition, the quote President Obama
said had caught my eye, which was, My mother was the one constant in my life. When I think
about my mom raising me alone when she was 20, and working and paying the bills, and you
know, trying to pursue your own dreams, I think that is a feat that is unmatched (3 Successful
Famous People). The statement he announces gives hope to the children living in a single-parent
home and assures that they can be just as thankful to have a single parent, like how Obama did.
He talked about how his mother putted in the effort and love to take care of the family, which
presented his respect towards his mother. President Obama made a change toward his family by
taking charge and getting ahead even through the difficult circumstances he had to live by. His
mother was the key essential and inspiration for him to reach his goals by becoming the
President of the United States today.
Single-parent families can be very overwhelming and difficult, but at the same time if the
child and the parent both help each other along the way; it could be beneficial for the whole
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family. The responsibilities and roles that a child takes early on will make a difference in their
lives and their parents lives in the long run. In my opinion, my advice to you guys is that in
order for a child to live a happy life and be thankful for what he or she has in their lives, is to not
depend on the parents to fulfill any goals in their lives.















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Works Cited
Coppa, Christine. "3 Successful Famous People Raised By Single Parents." Babble RSS. Disney,
30 Sept. 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Ilgar, Sengul. Parental Tendency Towards Taking Responsibility: The Case Of Homework.
International Journal Of Social Sciences & Education 3.4 (2013): 942-952.
ContentSelect Research Navigator. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
Ketteringham, Kristin. "Single Parent Households - How Does It Affect the Children?"Yahoo
Contributor Network. Yahoo, 6 July 2007. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
"Living With a Single Parent." KidsHealth. Ed. Colleen Sherman. The Nemours Foundation, 01
Oct. 2013. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
"Single Parenting." Better Health Channel. Victoria, 12 Aug. 2013. Web. 09 Feb. 2014.