Monthly Archives: February 2009

6 Recent Articles On Single Black Parents

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parenting11 6 Recent Articles On Single Black Parents


The number of single-parent families is increasing everywhere. The 2002 US Census found that three of every ten children were living in a single-parent home. Experts believe the number to be steadily increasing and expect the trend to continue for years to come.

Increasing acceptance of divorce as a solution to marital problems is one social factor supporting the increase in single-parent families. With that acceptance has come greater tolerance for parents without partners.

Single parents face many challenges. They must earn a living and raise their children without the help and support of another adult at home. They face financial difficulties if they don’t receive child support or have a big salary. Their time is over-booked with work, household duties, parent-teacher conferences and PTA meetings, and attempts at private time for rest and relaxation.

Support systems for single parents are growing, but they still frequently feel isolated and alone. New single-parents must cope with children who are having their own problems adjusting to the new lifestyle. They may face anger, feelings of abandonment, and rebelliousness from children who feel they don’t get enough attention.

Although there are no clear census data on the number of single black fathers, experts assume the number to be increasing as well. They express concern that single black fathers may face more pressure than other single parents due to continuing social discrimination, despite less political or legal discrimination.

Many experts assume that males are less equipped to be single parents than females, arguing that men don’t receive the same level of training in domestic tasks and that women are naturally more nurturing care-givers. However, other professionals assert that men are more likely to be objective and logical in their decision-making for the household and that they are more consistent in disciplining their children that women are.

Interviews of African American full-time single fathers conduced by Robert Coles of Marquette University explored why they wanted to be full-time fathers. When the men talked about their motivations, they listed fulfilling their responsibilities, reworking their own feelings about their absent fathers, being a role model, and maintaining an established relationship with their children.

Several new studies have been conducted by experts and psychologists trying to learn more about black single-parenting. There are also a number of websites containing information and advice focusing on the black male’s single-parenting experience.

The following articles are examples of the literature available on the Internet targeting black male single parents.

1. “Parent Trapped: Dating for Single Parents.” Penned anonymously by a male single parent, this article talks about the author’s experiences with dating as a single parent. Assuming his experiences can be generalized to other men and to black single fathers, readers can relate to his joys and challenges.

2. “The Bad Rap Against Mothers.” This article was published in a popular main-stream magazine several years ago, but it remains fresh and relevant. Its author is a single mother who was abandoned by her black male partner.

3. “The Bad Rap Against Mothers, Part 2.” A second part to the previous article, Part 2 more carefully describes and analyzes the challenges presented by single parenthood for mothers. The author imagines what life might have been if she had been the one to leave the relationship. Explaining her argument, the author believes that single parents are well-positioned to raise “exceptional men” who have good manners and lofty principles.

4. “Come Back Home” inspiring excerpt is from the popular “Chicken Soup for the Single Parent: Stories of Hope, Healing and Humor.” This selection acknowledges that everyone’s experience with single parenting is highly personal and that each single parent has their own story to tell.

5. “Get More Time with your Children and Manage Your Child Support” was written for black single-parent males, but it will be equally touching and valuable for white single fathers. The article gives insights into the personal and financial issues single-parent males face.

6. “Dreaming Through the Twilight” is as sweet and mushy as its title but at the same time profound. It is also available as a book that compiles personal diary-type articles on black single-parent males having difficulty coping with their life as single parents.


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Attend Parenting Workshops to Learn Positive Parenting Strategies

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parenting14 Attend Parenting Workshops to Learn Positive Parenting Strategies


Parenting is a difficult job. One needs to be very careful when it comes to raise children. The basics of parenting should be learned otherwise life becomes tough. Many parents, especially those who are new, require help to manage their family life properly. Parenting workshops often proves to be good for them.

Those who are lucky enough to have elderly ladies in family can gain some helpful tips on how to raise children without any external help. However, parent coaching is good for all – whether you have adequate knowledge of parenting or not, parenting coaching always equip you with more ideas and strategies to handle your family matters smartly.

Hence, going for parenting classes is a win-win situation – you have nothing to lose at all. Chances are high that you will learn a lot of new things while interacting with psychologists, counselors, child specialists, doctors and other parents. Hence, it will be a wise decision to go for parent coaching whenever you fail to find a realistic solution to your problems.

How Parenting Workshops Help

Putting it simply, parenting workshops equip you with essential parenting skills to raise a healthy, happy and responsible child who can enrich the family as well as the society with their positive contributions.

To make your child a reliable, trustworthy and healthy citizen of tomorrow you need to know the basics of parenting very well. If you fail to recognize the problems your children are experiencing, how can you help them grow up to your dreams?

That’s why you need to attend parent coaching classes. Such sessions help you in many ways; some are mentioned below:
Solve A Specific Problem

Parenting classes help you learn how to solve a specific problem. Initially the problem might seem to be your own, as if none else can undergo such a situation. But after meeting the parenting experts you might be surprised to know that there are others who are undergoing or have passed through similar problems. It definitely gives you a moral support.

Finally, the parenting coaching helps you find the solution that you were looking for. At the end of the session you become experienced enough to address many common problems associated with family life and child care.

Explore New Parenting Strategies

There are many ways to reach a single point. You might have tried one particular avenue; however, you never know if there are other easier options or not. Parenting workshops help you identify those unexplored options of parenting.

Perhaps you have tried to impart discipline to your child through punishment whereas; rewards and storytelling are better means to achieve the same goal. Once you learn the facts, you can implement them in your life.

Hence, even when your parenting strategies are working fine and you have no problems with your family life, you can undergo parenting courses just to gain knowledge and skills. So go for it and become proud parents.


Good Parenting Advice – How Do You Learn To Be A Parent?

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parenting19 Good Parenting Advice How Do You Learn To Be A Parent?


Parenting is the toughest, most important job most people will ever encounter and yet there is no license required, no training required, and no 24/7 hotline. This is rather short-sighted on the part of society as the cost of bad parenting is immense, but in truth the situation is not as dire as it seems. While no training is required for new parents, it is very easy for parents to learn the ways and means of good parents as well as the traps and pitfalls of bad parents. All it takes for parents to learn more about parenting is to watch, listen, and learn.

Watching is a key element to learning more about parenting. Watch the parents around you and you can learn all sorts of lessons about how to interact with your child, how to discipline your child, and how to teach your child. Almost everywhere you take your child there will be other parents and their children. Watching means observing but also listening. Hear the tone of voice as well as the words those parents use. Some parents use the right words but their tone and physical manner contradicts those words. Watch the children to note their response. Some children respond more readily to their parents. Why? What is different about that parent-child relationship? What can you take away for your own parent-child relationship?

Listen to advice. You don’t need to take every piece of advice that is offered to you. After all, there are many people who are free with advice and yet have clearly demonstrated they are in no position to offer it. However, there is often some really good advice shared by people you know and trust as well as good advice offered by passing strangers in the supermarket checkout line or in the stands at a soccer game. Be a sponge. Keep your ears open. You don’t have to take that advice but keeping your options open gives you the chance to sort out the jewels and benefit from them.

Be an active learner. Seek out information when you face a parenting challenge. Perhaps your child is acting out in a new way and your old discipline technique isn’t working. Search the internet, flip through parenting books, and ask some experts in your circle of friends. Sometimes great advice will come to you but other times you will need to seek it out. The more proactive you are about finding solutions to your parenting problems then the better parent you will become.

Parenting is a challenging job, no question about it, but it also comes with wonderful built-in rewards. Some times parents are forced to take a tough unpopular stand but in the end good parenting comes with its own rewards. Those rewards include a happy, successful child and a warm, loving relationship that will extend long past childhood and span the rest of your life. So who needs special training. If you watch, listen, and learn then you can be the parent you want to be and your child deserves.