Hyderabad:Parenting is an art and it need not be always confined to particular gender. In this changing times, even a man can be both mother and father with little more efforts.
Can men 'mother' is a thought that comes to our mind when we hear of a single father who takes care of his children, choosing the daddy life. We live in a pre-conceived notion that only mothers can nurture and there are a set of gender-specific roles and stereotypes that we have been believing since ages.
Parenting being a tough task comes with its own obstacles which is not only limited to mothers in this modern era. This Father's day let's understand what is single fatherhood and what are the challenges faced by them.
Single-parent families headed by fathers are a growing demographic in many regions of the world, which is largely due to increasing rates of divorce, separations, and non-marital childbearing.In 2011, more than 2·6 million households in the USA (a nine-times increase since the 1960s) and approximately 330 000 (3·5%) of all census households in Canada were headed by single fathers. There are nearly 3 million single parent families in the UK, of which approximately 10% are single fathers with dependent children.
To date, research on single parents has largely focused on single mothers. Single mothers generally have lower socioeconomic status, poorer self-rated health and mental health, higher levels of psychological distress, and more health-related problems and hospital admissions than the general population.
CHALLENGES OF BEING A SINGLE FATHER:
SUPPORT:
Historically, men are accustomed to being the ones providing support, not asking for it. This can make it difficult for single fathers to know how and when to ask friends and family to step in and help with childcare or other issues. One of the best things a single father can do is to find a networking group comprised of other men also taking on the role of primary caregiver. WORK/ LIFE BALANCE; there is a difficult work/life balance to be had. They must work and play just like single moms. They must deal with the perception of the other parent that they are not doing as much as they can or should.
OVERPROTECTION:
When it comes to dealing with the challenge of personal lives, single fathers often try really hard to protect their children. One of the biggest challenges for single dads to overcome is standing back and letting their kids struggle through some of life’s problems and challenges.
DISCIPLINE:
Another challenge single fathers face is discipline. Even though you’re the adult, it can be terrifying to go into battle with a teenage son or daughter. In addition, it’s not uncommon for single parents to be weighed down with guilt after watching the kids struggle through the divorce. In some instances, single dads go too far and start over-indulging their kids’ whims or even hesitating to discipline in the first