Thursday, March 22, 2012

Happy Single Parents Day!

The Single 101 Nation wishes all single parents "Happy Single Parents' Day" today!


According to the 2010 U.S. Census, there are approximately 13.6 million single men and women raising children in America alone. Almost one out of every three children is raised by a single parent. That's up to 26%, a huge increase compared to the statistics in 1960, where only 9% of children were raised by one parent.

Across the globe, single parenthood is the result of several scenarios: divorce, death of a spouse, an absentee parent or by choice. However, single parenthood is not often by choice, creating a new challenge to take on double duty raising their family.  When asked how they keep all the plates spinning, most will admit that you just do what you have to do. We admire their courage and determination. Many children of single parents will tell you that they grew up in a loving environment and have more respect and admiration for their mother or father who raised them.

Just two weeks ago, Glenn Grothmann, A GOP senator from Wisconsin, who in my opinion is purely attempting to gain his fifteen minutes of fame, acquired face time on national news for promoting the proposed bill 48.982, which states: "To promote statewide educational and public awareness campaigns and materials for the purpose of developing public awareness of the problems of child abuse and neglect. In promoting those campaigns and materials, the board shall emphasize non-marital parenthood as a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect."

His keyword here is 'emphasize'. Grothmann's true agenda is to gain followers in the belief that single parenting leads to child abuse and neglect. He just doesn't get it.  The real truth is, he isn't intelligent enough to get behind the current issues that matter, like jobs, high gas prices and turning around the U.S. economy. Has the senator forgotten that single parents vote and that some happen to be republicans?

Like presidential candidate Rick Santortum, Senator Grothmann has to start a conversation about other issues that in his mind makes him powerful, because he doesn't excel in finding solutions to other issues of greater urgency. Unfortunately, these men are heading over the proverbial bridge to nowhere.

Some things just need to be said, but the focus today is on the greatness and strength of our American citizens who are surviving as single parents. We salute you!

1 comment:

  1. Seems to me that such legislation has found a false-culprit --- the single parent. When all the while poverty and the stress/pressure that goes along with it is much more responsible. And who has done more to make people poor than the policies of the GOP/Wall Street.
    Since there are more women who are single parents than men, the GOP is using the "single-parent" perspective as reasoning for their "war on women"!
    The GOP have become the anti 99%, anti-American worker, anti-women's rights, anti-fairness in the tax code, anti-peace, anti anything.

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