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Running head: Single parenting 1

Working With Families

Research Paper

St. Clair College

By: Mackenzie Dufour

0639893

Submitted to: Sarah Jane Grant


Single parenting 2

Introduction:

Single parenting is an issue that is ever growing our society. Single parenting is when one

parent decides it is time to part ways from the other parent. They come to an agreement about

who will get the children on what day and what other areas need to be taken care of. Single

parenting can also happen when another parent passes away. However, things are not always

positive with single parenting. Sometimes the parents cannot get along after they separate, which

generates growing problems for children in their childhood. Children with single parents can also

be at greater risk for numerous problems such as: academic difficulties, delinquency, negative or

aggressive behaviours, depression/anxiety, and even loneliness.

Working in the field of Early Childhood Education, this topic relates to this profession for

many reasons. As educators, there is a lot parents go through on a daily basis, and we must

support them in any way possible. Single parenting can be hard, and it can also be very joyful for

some parents. It is up to us to support parents with any feelings they may have. More

importantly, it is also crucial to support children in our care. Some children may have a harder

time with separation from parents, and some children might even have anxiety with going home

to that parent. Whatever the case is, it is important for us to know about single parenting and

what we can do to support both parents and children. It is also important to provide parents with

all the resources they need to get through being a single parent, and even for some things they

are feeling anxious about. However, it is also important to remind parents that single parenting

is not all bad. They have to know all aspects, the positive and the negative. We as educators need

to provide this information to them, or let them know where they can find this information. This

will help us as educators be active and professional role models.


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Website Review:

As parents, it is important to have as many resources available as possible to help them

cope with being a single parent. There are many valuable websites, books, and other resources

that are able to assist parents with single parenting. The website that was used for the purpose of

this paper, is Single Parent Families Definition, Description, Common Problems, 2017 is a

site that was found useful for parents and caregivers.

This website did meet expectations. It offers a wide variety of topics. For example, the

first heading of the website gives a definition of what a single parent family is. It also gives a

description of what a single parent family is. It offers a section on the website that talks about

common problems, parental concerns, and when single parents can get help. At the bottom of the

website it offers an area for additional resources that families can access and use. This site would

be helpful for parents and caregivers because it holds a lot of good information. It points them in

the right direction in terms of resources. Some parents may not know how to deal with raising a

child alone, so it is good to have sites like this to let them know they are not alone. What was

also interesting about this site, is that it has a section on the bottom where parents can make

comments about their use of the website. In addition to this, it has a Single Parent Families

Forum, which is an area where parents can exchange ideas about topics, similar to a discussion

board. This is excellent for some parents that may not think they understand certain topics about

their child, but it is even good for parents to talk and communicate with each other in general.

The website was very easy to navigate. It has highlighted key words or terms for parents

to explore if they do not understand something or if they would like to access more information.

The site is an encyclopedia, so it offers a variety of areas for parents to explore. This can be done

by clicking on the topic Childrens Health at the top of the page.


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It was very easy to understand the information on the website. All of the headings and

topics are easy to read. Nothing is jumbled or disorganized. Everything is organized in its proper

place and area, and it is easy to search and explore different topics. The site is not confusing, and

parents will find the information informative and useful.

The information on this website can be trusted. Many of the areas of the website are

statistics, or studies that have been done. The information in itself is from an encyclopedia, so it

is trustworthy information that parents can find useful. The information can also be found useful

because there are no spelling or grammar mistakes. Everything is accurate, and straight forward.

Even for newcomers, or families that may not have a lot of knowledge about the topic of single

parenting, this site would be easy for them to read and navigate. This is important, because these

families should also have equal opportunity to have access to these resources. This website can

also be trusted because the information provided is meaningful. Parents can read it and know that

the website has valued information. They will know that the topics being explored are real life

topics that they can read and find additional resources.

This site would be highly recommended to families. The reason for this is because it is a

meaningful website. It is a site that offers a lot of information for families. It will also help

families understand what their child might be feeling or going through as well. The site also

offers tips for parents of dos and donts with their child concerning single parenting. This is

important, as it can be hard for children to choose one parent, or even understand the single

parent concept. It is important to understand that this kind of website can be beneficial to even

parents who want to have a general understanding about the topic. The site provides more than

enough information for this. There is a lot of knowledge that can be gained from going onto this

site. Parents will find good resources and information.


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Fact Sheet:

Single parenting is a topic that can be explored widely. There are many different

resources and areas that parents can access and explore. As educators, it is our job to provide

parents with these resources that they need. The following areas are resources that parents can

use and access to gain more information about single parenting:

Books that would be useful:

For children: Do I Have a Daddy? by Jeanne Warren Lindsay

Love is a Family by Roma Downey

Whos in a Family? by Robert Skutch

For parents:

Single Parenting That Works by Dr. Kevin Leman

Positive Discipline for Single Parents by Jane Nelson, Cheryl Erwin, and Carol Delzer

The Single Father by Armin Brott

Going Solo While Raising Children with Disabilities by Laura E. Marshak

Web-Based Articles:

https://www.universalclass.com/articles/self-help/pros-and-cons-in-single-parent-families.htm

http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/successful_single_parenting.html

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/family-dynamics/types-of-

families/Pages/Stresses-of-Single-Parenting.aspx

http://nydivorcefirm.com/single-parent-households-does-affect-children/

http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/single-parent.aspx

Blogs that Would be Useful:


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The Successful Single Mom! Get your Life Back and Your Game On! -

http://thesuccessfulsinglemom.blogspot.ca/

Date, Parent, and Make Money Like a Mother! - http://www.wealthysinglemommy.com/

1 Community Support Group Network:

Connections Early Years Family Centre Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Summary:

The topic of single parenting is one that is interesting. There are many supports and

resources for parents and educators to use. The research that has been collected for the purpose

of this paper would be beneficial to Early Childhood Educators because it would allow for

opportunities to engage and build more relationships with parents. Parents are always looking for

answers, and they are always for places they can go for support, or things they can access. By

having these supports available for them, it makes everything easier, and relieves stress. The

availability of resources is very good. There are things to access online, books you can buy,

blogs, articles. There are also resources for children too. As educators, it is important for us to be

able to support both parents and children. Having these resources available makes it easy to

support parents, and be able to see their points of view or know how they are feeling. We need to

educate ourselves on these topics too. It is important for us to know about these kinds of topics,

because we will interact with a wide variety of families. We need to know all the pros and cons,

and positives and negatives. All of the good with the bad, it is up to us to be mentors and

confidantes for parents. Conducting this research has helped to understand this topic a lot better,

and these resources need to be ready and available for parents.

Types of resources that would benefit our community would be any family support

centers or community events in Windsor-Essex County. These resources are available. There are
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many organizations in Windsor-Essex county that are available for families to utilize. An

important resource being Connections Early Years Centre, and the Triple P Parenting Program.

Another type of resource that would benefit our community would be any online resources or

blogs that parents can access. Single parenting is a topic that needs to be addressed in our

profession as Early Childhood Educators, and there are many resources and services in our

community that can be used for parents.

As educators, from conducting this research, we will know where to find and have these

resources available for families. It is important for us to have access to these resources at all

times so we can answer any questions parents may have. This will help us be more professional,

and will enhance the rapport we build with children and families. It is important to have this

rapport with families, and going above and beyond to meet their needs should be our first

priority.
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References

Brott, A. (1999). The Single Father (1st ed.).

Connections Early Years Family Centre - Windsor, Ontario, Canada.

(2017). Connectwithus.ca. Retrieved 24 March 2017, from

http://www.connectwithus.ca/

Corder, H. (2017). The Successful Single Mom! Get your Life back and Your Game

On. Retrieved from http://thesuccessfulsinglemom.blogspot.ca/

Downey, R. (1965). Love is a Family (1st ed.).

Families: Single Parenting and Today's Family. (2017). http://www.apa.org. Retrieved

24 March 2017, from http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/single-parent.aspx

Johnson, E. (2017). Date, Parent and Make Money Like a Mother! Retrieved from

http://www.wealthysinglemommy.com/

Leman, K. (2015). Single parenting that works (1st ed.). [United States]: Tyndale

House Publishers, Inc.

Lindsay, J., & Moffett, J. (2000). Do I have a daddy? (1st ed.). Buena Park, Calif.: Morning
Glory Press.

Marshak, L. Going solo while raising children with disabilities (1st ed.).

Nelsen, J., Erwin, C., & Delzer, C. (1999). Positive discipline for single parents (1st

ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press.


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Pros and Cons in Single-Parent Families. (2017). UniversalClass.com. Retrieved 24

March 2017, from https://www.universalclass.com/articles/self-help/pros-and-

cons-in-single-parent-families.htm

Provda, B. (2017). How Single Parent Households Affect Children

-. Nydivorcefirm.com. Retrieved 24 March 2017, from

http://nydivorcefirm.com/single-parent-households-does-affect-children/

Single parents & single parenting | Raising Children Network.

(2017). Raisingchildren.net.au. Retrieved 24 March 2017, from

http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/successful_single_parenting.html

Single-Parent Families - Definition, Description, Common problems.

(2017). Healthofchildren.com. Retrieved 23 March 2017, from

http://www.healthofchildren.com/S/Single-Parent-Families.html

Stresses of Single Parenting. (2017). HealthyChildren.org. Retrieved 24 March 2017,

from https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/family-dynamics/types-

of-families/Pages/Stresses-of-Single-Parenting.aspx

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