|
Singles |
|
|
|
SINGLE STATS: The Dramatic Rise of Single Father Households From Singles, The Magazine for Today's Single We all know the stereotype -- say 'single parent raising children alone' and most people immediately assume you're talking about a single mother. That's not as true as it used to be. The U.S. Census Bureau recently released data from a 1996 report that indicates the number of single father-headed households grew by 62 percent from 1990. In some states, the number of single father households in 1996 -- and probably the number is even higher today -- was nearly as large as the number of single mother headed households. It's not the latest data from the 2000 census, but you may well have seen news reports that indicate there was a 62 percent rise based on the new census. It's apparent that some reporters have made mistakes which the census bureau specifically warned against in its release this week. The proportion of children who lived with only their father in 1996 was 3 percent. An interesting note is that the proportion is very similar to the situation back in 1880. It probably occurred then because large numbers of women died in childbirth and often at much younger ages. The current total is up 62 percent -- but in just six years. The Census Bureau explains that the data comes from the 1996 survey of income and program participation. When the 2000 data is released later this year, the total is likely to be even higher. One of the reasons for the increase in the number of single father headed households may be that the courts now are more willing to accept the idea during a divorce that the best place for the kids may well be with their Dad. Still, single fathers heading households are a small percentage of the total number of families raising children. There are 106 million households in the United States, 71 million of which qualify as family households in which at least one person is related to the head of the household. Homes where fathers are raising children amount to 2.2 million households -- 3 percent of the total. Homes where single mothers are raising children grew by 25 percent, up to 7 percent of the total number of households. According to the new data, some of the biggest increases in single-father households occurred in Southern and Western states: up 126 percent in Nevada, and 68 percent in Virginia. There are increasing numbers of resources available for single fathers, both in their communities and on the Internet. Here are a few of them: Single Father's Lighthouse <http://srd.yahoo.com/srst/359898/single+fathers/2/7/*http://av.qnet.com/~rlewis3/index.html> - this site offers help for single fathers and mothers. Single Dad's Index <http://srd.yahoo.com/srst/257665/single+fathers/3/7/*http://www.vix.com/pub/men/single-dad.html> - a virtual library including resources on child support and parenting issues. Single and Custodial Father's Network <http://srd.yahoo.com/srst/323828/single+fathers/4/7/*http://www.scfn.org/> - a network of fathers who are raising children alone. |