Lone Parent Family

• Reasons for changes in childbearing

  •Decline in stigma of cohabitation – only one third of 18-24 year olds believe that marriage should come before parenthood.•The rise in births outside marriage is largely due to cohabiting couples rather than single mothers.•Later age for first children, smaller families and more childless women reflect the greater career options for women.
• Reasons for growth

  •Welfare State: benefits mean that women no longer have to rely on men (link to social policy!).•Feminists see this as a good thing, whilst New Right argue its now too easy to be a single parent.
• Reasons For Growth


  •Changing attitudes towards marriage•Divorce: much cheaper and easier now in the UK than in the 1970’s•Social Acceptance. Less stigma attached to it than in the past- linked to secularisation (decline in religion)
• Reason For growth

  •Media: no longer portray single parent families as deviant/ sinful- now seen in a more positive light.•
• •Many women stay single through choice - greater opportunities for women in society allow women to support families alone. Jean Renvoize (1985) found that professional women were able to support their child without the father’s involvement.
• •Domestic abuse - (Cashmore) Some working class mothers chose to live on welfare benefits without a partner, often those who had experienced abuse.
• •Traditional gender expectations may play a role  - whereby looking after children as seen as the duty of women rather than men.
• •Traditional gender expectations may play a role  - whereby looking after children as seen as the duty of women rather than men.


  •Most teenage mothers stay at home, disproving the idea that they have children to gain benefits.•Single parent families are more likely to be in poverty – dispelling the idea of generous welfare benefits.•Murray ignores the fact that many single parents have suffered domestic abuse and may be better off.
• Use what you have learned today to criticise Murray’s view of single parents


  •He ignores the fact that most single parents eventually remarry – showing it is not a long term choice for most.•He takes a patriarchal view - assuming that single mothers live off the state rather than being able to provide for their families.•