CHAPTER NINE: Single Parent Families Can Succeed!

ONE-PARENT families have been called "the fasting growing family style"  in the United States.  The situation is similar in many other lands. A record number of divorces, desertions, separations, and illegitimate births have had far-reaching consequences for millions of parents and children.

"I am a 28-year-old widow with two children," Wrote one single mother.  "I am very depressed for I don't want to raise my children without a father. It seems like no one even cares about me.  My children see me cry often and it affects them."  Besides wrestling with such feelings as anger, guilt, and loneliness, most single parents face the challenge of both holding a job outside the home and performing domestic duties. One said:  "Being a single parent is like being a juggler. After six months of practice, you have finally been able to juggle four balls at one. But just as soon as you are able to do that,  somebody throws a new ball at you!" 

Youngsters in single-parent families often have their own struggles.  They may have to contend with intense emotions in the wake of a parent's abrupt departure or death. For many youths the absence of a parent seems to have a profoundly negative effect.

One parent families existed in Bible times.  The Scriptures repeatedly mentioned the "fatherless boy" and the "widow." (Exodus 22:22; Deuteronomy 24:19-21; Job 31:16-22) Jehovah God was not indifferent to their plight.  The Psalmist called God "a father of fatherless boys and judge of widows."  (Psalm 68:5) Surely, Jehovah has the same concern for one-parent families today!  Indeed, his Word offers principles that can help them succeed.

Next time: CHAPTER NINE:  Single Parent Families Can Succeed!/ MASTERING THE HOUSEHOLD ROUTINE 

From the book: The  Secret of FAMILY HAPPINESS