In defense of my remarks

I recently received an email from a single parent criticizing my remarks in a recent post ("God Help Us, Part 2"). I can't say this was unexpected. For some reason, I knew that of the three parenting styles that I criticized it would be the single folks who would likely come after me. I did wonder why this person chose to email me rather than post their comments on the blog site...I'm not sure. Maybe they sought more anonymity. Or maybe they knew what the statistics showed and that I would likely post those stats in response. Well, if that's the case, they were right. Once again, my words are in no way meant to be accusatory towards single parents. I'm sure the majority of you are good parents. I don't doubt that. The problem isn't your style of parenting...it's the simple fact that there is only ONE of you. But just so I don't sound like a close-minded radical, I'll let the numbers speak for themselves.

Single parent families now comprise 27% of all households with children, which is scary considering:

15% of today's adult population grew up in fatherless homes, yet 78% of the nation's prison population did the same...so someone growing up without a father is 20 times more likely to serve time in prison;

Children in single parent homes are twice as likely to suffer from psychiatric disease, alcohol-related disease and attempt suicide than those raised in traditional families; while they were 3-4 times more likely to abuse narcotics. Note that these statistics were adjusted to account for socioeconomic status, thus showing a direct correlation between these problems and single parent families

These children are less likely to finish high school and go to college, less likely to hold a steady job and more likely to become teenage mothers.

Children with fathers actively involved in their lives are more likely to excel in school

2/3 of children suffering in poverty reside in single parent homes

These are just a few. For more evidence-based stats visit this site.

There is no doubt that kids need BOTH parents to have the best chance at proper development and success. I'm not criticizing you single moms (and dads), I'm just saying that this is a problem and something should be done. I know that you weren't the only one involved in the issue, and somewhere there is a parent who has shirked their responsibility (except in the case of widows, who make up a VERY small percentage of single parent homes). So please don't take offense at these stats. Instead, let's all work together to find a solution. My interest is centered on the kids and society in general, as yours should be.

Now, I'm not one to complain about a problem without proposing a solution. So in upcoming posts you'll hear some of my ideas. If anyone feels the need to dispute these facts, please do so...just keep it clean and debate things in a respectable manner. And, please, leave your comments on the blog for others to see!