| Parenting is a hard job that can be difficult with two | | | | the child is well adjusted and happy. Of course, a single |
| parents in the home, let alone one. Because of this | | | | parent may find it harder to give time and attention, |
| awesome responsibility, much has been said about the | | | | especially when working two jobs to make ends meet. |
| possibility that raising kids minus a mother or father can | | | | On the other hand, if a double parent home is |
| lead to higher crime rates among children. | | | | dysfunctional, abusive or devoid of love, it can produce |
| While a compelling argument, something as complex | | | | a hostility that comes out in negatively as well. |
| as youth crime may not a solitary cause. A case in | | | | Dooming Kids to Failure |
| point would be the fact that most high profile crimes, | | | | The assumption is that most kids from single a parent |
| like school shootings, involve kids from two parent | | | | homes are products of divorce or an "epidemic" of |
| households. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the | | | | teens who opt to live on welfare and do not have the |
| Columbine killers, lived in fairly upscale neighborhoods | | | | skills to raise their children properly. A look at welfare |
| and came from two parent homes. | | | | statistics however, indicates that only 8% of the |
| A poll even indicated that 85 % of the public believed | | | | welfare dole is given out to teen parents. This means |
| that the parents of the Columbine Murders were at | | | | that the epidemic we tend to hear so much about |
| fault for their children's criminal behavior. Victim's | | | | may be a little inflated. |
| families even filed civil suits against them for financial | | | | In most cases, teens who have babies receive help |
| damages. So, it would appear that crime rates among | | | | from their extended families. This also means that the |
| children may not be attributed solely to single parent's | | | | child may have familial love and support from relatives |
| children, but can stem from any home at any given | | | | who assist in child rearing duties. Some children are |
| time. | | | | raised by a single parent because of the death of their |
| Single Parent Stigma | | | | mother or father as well. In other words, single parents |
| While the case can be made that many crimes are | | | | may end up having to raise a kid alone due to |
| committed by children from single homes, studies | | | | situations beyond their control. |
| indicate that there has been a decline in youth crime | | | | If we live in a society that automatically places single |
| even though single parenthood still exists. FBI crime | | | | parent kids in the potentially bad apple category, we |
| statistics even indicate that violent juvenile crime stats | | | | inadvertently start a self-fulfilling prophecy of crime |
| are at their lowest point in twenty years. It cannot be | | | | rates among children in this group. In this case, it won't |
| ignored that major crime rates among children occur | | | | be from single parenting that these kids act out, but |
| across all demographics.This is especially true when it | | | | from their reaction to how society chooses to deal |
| comes to school shooters, who tend to come from | | | | with such complex issues. This should be enough to |
| two parent homes. | | | | compel us to seek real solutions to an extremely |
| So, what are the common denominators? One finds | | | | complex problem and not place the blame solely on |
| that in homes where there is attention, love and care, | | | | the shoulders of all single parents. |