Hisham Al AbbadRuth RogersEng 300November 25, 2012Behavior of Children Brought up by a Single ParentSingle parenting has become an increasing trend both in the U.S and overseas. According to the U.S Bureau of statistics, 40% of births occur outside wedlock by the year 2007. This means that, approximately 1.7 million children were born to unmarried mothers. This translates to 250% higher number than that reported in 1980 (Ideboean 10). In Australia, in 2009, children under the age of 15 years found to be raised by single parents were approximately 19%. The gradual increase in single parenting has been a major concern and part of government policy focus. Concerns have been raised about the implication of single parenting on the children`s behavior as compared to the behavior of children raised by two parents, the wellbeing of the children as well as for the parents themselves. Different myths that mainly focus on the negative behaviors portrayed by children raised by lone families have been put forward hence leading to the view that children from single parent families are wild, aggressive; perform poorly in school among other negative traits (Ideboean 9). However, this research may prove these myths wrong or right according to various scholarly articles and research done globally. Kurdek in his article narrates the story of Ashley who was brought up by a father figure and never knew how it felt to have a mother by her side or a female figure to advise her while growing up. Ashley`s mom left when she was only two months old meaning that her father was her mom and dad. However, being a working person, her father was always late to come home from work and at times; the dad could not attend Ashley`s school activities due to work meetings or even exhaustion. Due to this, Ashley`s dad employed a female nanny who was supposed to take care of Ashley. During adolescence, Ashley was left to take care of herself as her father decided she was mature to do so and hence she had no nanny to take care of her. With all the physical, mental and emotional change that comes with being a teenager, Ashley was left to figure out life by herself, as her father was always busy. The two never had time to talk about life, share what each one was going through or even have fun together. At school, Ashley disliked having female friends as she did not know how to relate with them and since all he had was a father figure, she struggled to fit in with other males but with the wrong crew. She began substance abuse, immorality and was failing in school. When her father was informed, he was shocked at his daughter`s behavior and that`s when he came to the realization that he was not there for her, that apart from him, Ashley also needed a female figure to help her through life. Ashley was then taken to rehab after which her father asked her aunt to be visiting her and talking to her about life, as he would also do to help Ashley figure out life and what it entails. From reading ...