Dedric Owens, Type One parent, has six children with three different women. The Flint shooter's mother, Tamarla Owens, does drugs and was convicted in 1992 of child abuse. During her son's recess show-down at the swings, Tamarla was wandering, having left her son with Dedric, the reliable, who was residing with her brother, the wanted. Amidst all the ergo angst over gun safety locks, a hard look at family structure, parent skills and the instability of children's lives might help. Children with one parent live in economic stress.
Single mothers are seven times more likely to be at poverty levels.
Children of divorce flit between two households operating on the same income that wasn't sufficient for one. Children of divorce experience higher levels of antisocial behavior and problems at school. Just think of children trying to manage the holidays with mom and dad divorced, their moms and dads divorced and perhaps remarried. The child has two homes, two sets of parents and eight sets of grandparents, half of whom are not related. Generational connections dissipate because the ties that bind aren't formed when a child's time is divvied up among so many.