Single motherhood is a topic with which many Americans are all too familiar — while often not the simplest of situations, countless mothers are successful in raising one or more children entirely on their own. Single fathers, on the other hand, have been a largely ignored aspect of divorce and separation in Indiana in the past. Shifts in attitudes towards single-father homes could increasingly change the way society looks at single fathers and the stress they face when raising children alone.
It comes as no surprise that raising children solo can be incredibly challenging. An article in TIME magazine highlighted the biggest factors of stress, and, using a nationwide survey from the Harvard School of Public Health that polled 2,505 adults, showed that single parents face significant burdens in the home. With 35 percent of those surveyed admitting to this stress, it is evident that single parents often spin more plates than parents living together and raising children. The survey showed an equal percentage of parents with teenagers experiencing stress, making clear that those raising children singlehandedly face multiple stress factors.
There may be no single solution to the stress that one-parent households can create, but The Atlantic acknowledges the rising numbers of single-father households in the country. According to a 2014 Pew Research study, 8 percent of households with minor children are headed by a single father. These statistics have only increased in the last few decades, which the Atlantic claims is a result of rising divorce rates and the rise in single parents who do not marry. Society, too, has gradually become more welcoming of households led by single fathers. But ultimately, U.S. court systems and their changing procedures surrounding child custody cases have allowed for single-father households to become less taboo and more a normal part of life.