Single parents in today s society may be more isolated and perhaps more disillusioned than single parents of the past. Increasing gaps between the have s and the have-not s in the United States have aggravated the disadvantage of single mothers. Children of single parents are now the poorest age group in the United States. In addition to being poor, single-parent families can often be isolated from extended family and community support. Mobility often separates parents from important sources of extended family support the traditional helping network.
Parental employment places a great strain on parent-child relationships.
For example, parents may have to depend on other caregivers to set limits and provide guidance during their children s formative years. This text was extracted from the publication, MF2309 .