Do you plan on having kids?

[Black Wizard]

Nope, zero plans.

Would rather not deal with all the physical facets of pregnancy and childbirth, having a child is very expensive, and to be quite honest I doubt my own ability to be a good mother.

 

[The Gipper]

Jacob Fox vs Solidus Forummania, Single parent on a pole match!

 

[Nikki Nitro]

I would make for a Great Mother someday!

 

[Solid Snake]

Honestly I'd be a lot happier if Dru was running the world. Ichigo, not so much... but definitely Dru

We'd all be nuked on the first mood-swing if Twiggy was in charge.

 

[Solid Snake]

Jacob Fox vs Solidus Forummania, Single parent on a pole match!

If this is your way of living out your fantasies, well...

 

[Nikki Nitro]

I had a orange tabby male cat named Twix/Twixie (Yes, Named after the Candy Bar)

 

[The Gipper]

If this is your way of living out your fantasies, well...

One of these days I will create a WWEFmania thread....it will be great.

 

[Solid Snake]

Everything you said makes perfect sense but doesn't refute the only point I was trying to make and that is that a single parent CAN raise a child as emotionally and psychology healthy as a two parent household. Of course there will be inconsistencies and exceptions on BOTH sides. That's the very reason I didn't want to do this debate to begin with. I can find information to support both of our positions and this will be an exercise in futility.

Technically, to prove either viewpoint, we have to do more than just find some data that shows how the single parent family differs from the two parent family. I WISH psychology was that easy. No, in fact, we would first have to establish in a hierarchy what attributes in children are most beneficial as adults. We're unlikely to agree on that because that will be opinion. Once we establish that, then we would have to find metadata of studies that contrast those attributes in both single parent households and two parent households. Then, once we've done that we can draw vague inferences from that data while necessarily conceding that this can't be applied to every family of either group. And then, even after we do that, it's not going to change anyone's mind.

This is why I tend to stay away from controversial topics here because I deal with them 12 hours a day as a research scientist. Hell, I can't even prove to the Japanese medical profession that they should categorize suicide as a pathology and that seems obvious. But the fact is, viewpoints are very difficult to change. And in fact, I really don't want to change anyone's viewpoint. I'm old enough at this point to realize this is how the world is and I much prefer to connect with people on the things we can agree on... like cats, Pokemon and Vince McMahon. This sort of merges my work life and social life and that's pretty freaky to me because I do depressing work.

So yeah, this isn't something that will be brought to a definite conclusion one way or the other.

Well of course a parent can raise a child alone and have that child grow up to be healthy but there are far more who can't. That is all I was saying. Most of my friends growing up had single parent households be it from divorce, one night stands, drug abuse, or one parent dying. My niece also grew up without a full time parent on either side and I watched my aunt raise two kids alone only having financial support (no emotional support) and she has all kinds of mental issues now from years of stress. All of them struggled. All of them had a hard time with relationships and still do. Their parents struggled financially and mentally as well. At the same time one of my friends did have both parents but was verbally abused by one of them so she grew up with horrific self esteem and an inward self-abusive mindset that ultimately made her a very controlling and manipulative person. So I have seen it from both sides (two parents not being enough and one parent not being enough) but I don't know a single person personally who grew up with only one parent who didn't have a hard time coping, making ends meet in terms of money, or establishing healthy relationships. I know far more with two parents who didn't have these issues. Money tends to be a big factor in this but lack of emotional support isn't far behind it. This doesn't take into account that there are single parents who choose to be single parents but most are brought into the position of being a single parent by circumstances, not directly choosing it.

For me, research and studies can only prove so much and as you said, they can go either way. Life experiences give you a far greater range for something. How I feel is based on what I have seen and experienced first hand with family and friends, not something that was taught to me or something someone told me. I am sure part of your beliefs has to do with the same thing (which is why we see things differently).

 

[Solid Snake]

One of these days I will create a WWEFmania thread....it will be great.

 

[The Gipper]

This is why I have a team match on the card.....Me, Crithu and Thunder vs You, Haze & Bay-Bay!

 

[Solid Snake]

This is why I have a team match on the card.....Me, Crithu and Thunder vs You, Haze & Bay-Bay!

 

[Nikki Nitro]

I AGREE with The Rock! Aaaand With Snake.

 

[The Gipper]

Ah.....another thread took way off topic.

 

[Nikki Nitro]

Ah.....another thread took way off topic.

U started this part of it. I BLAME NICOLE

 

[Red Rain]

Sure, no problem. I shall also post some important quotes from studies. From Pew Research Center

"Other statistics from the Witherspoon Institute, a conservative think tank in Princeton, New Jersey, demonstrate that 66 percent of children from single-parent households live below the poverty level and nearly 50 percent of adults who receive welfare began the program after becoming a single parent. Only about 10 percent of children raised in a two-parent family live below the poverty level."

"Studies conducted by Dr. Paul Amato, Professor of Family Sociology and Demography at Pennsylvania State University show that children who grow up with both biological parents in the same household are less likely to experience a variety of cognitive, emotional and social problems. Dual-parent households often maintain higher standards of living, therefore providing more effective parenting skills with less stressful life circumstances. Examining potential advantages of a single-parent household is also beneficial. Leaving a relationship that exposes your child to marital conflict is a positive change because your child will no longer be entangled in parental discord at home"

"Exposure to single parenthood as a child also raises the probability of next generation single parenthood by approximately 120 percent. McLanahan's research testifies that daughters of single parents are 30 to 53 percent more likely to marry as teenagers, 75 to 111 percent more likely to give birth while teenagers and are more likely to experience marital severance and have babies out of wedlock."

And it closes with this

"Any parenting model, whether it's single parent, biological dual parent, stepparent or cross-generational has the capacity to incorporate positive parenting methods such as understanding developmental needs, talking and listening, modeling respect, encouragement and participation."

Absolutely.
I'd love to know what factors can skew information like this.

The nuclear family model you've presented and its accompanying statistics may or may not be outdated.

Parents are certainly allowing the internet to, sort of, fill in the blanks regarding socialization and education. Kids today have laptops, cell phones and are certainly are not playing outdoors.

Many of the activities traditionally taught by parents such as washing clothes and chopping wood are done by automated machines.

I suspect that your theory has validity to it but the information you've gathered isn't possibly enough to sufficiently analyze or account for the vast technological growth of the past 10-15 years.

This is just my take and I'm open to further suggestion.