Table of ContentsWhy is it important to you and your life?How does it apply to the community?Why is it important to the field of parenting? Traditional families consisting of two parents and their children with both parents in their first marriage have become less common in the United States. The increasing divorce rate over the years has also led to an increasing number of two-parent or single-parent families. Divorce is the most common reason for this type of family, also made up of those who have never married or have not chosen the single life. This drastic experience can be stressful and uncomfortable as old family patterns are dismantled by separation. The new single-parent family form reflects the child's belonging to two separate and distinct family units. One is usually designated as the physical custodian, meaning the children reside most of the time in that parent's household. New patterns, rules, roles, and modifications are created to restore balance and allow the system to function. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Family systems theory predicts that all members are affected when a key member experiences a major change. Divorce destroys the effective functioning of the committed relationship between adult partners, which in turn disrupts the functioning of parent-child relationships and the entire family system. Adults experience a variety of reactions including depression, weight loss, sleep disturbances, likelihood of substance abuse, anger and hostility. There are some things with adults that should happen for a smooth transition. First, a family metacognition which is the recognition that divorce is about to occur and that adults no longer share similar feelings of love and attachment. The second is physical separation, which is the actual physical separation of the parents. Third, reorganization of the family system occurs when adults create a new relationship with children with different rules, roles and interaction patterns. And finally, the redefinition of the family that occurs when the noncustodial parent reorganizes the interaction patterns, boundaries, and rules that govern how they relate to the system and members of the single-parent family. A major challenge for divorcing parents is recognizing that they continue to share parenting responsibilities and relationships with their children, even though their marriage has been dismantled. Researchers have learned that children's reactions to parental divorce involve a process of adaptation to change. This process depends on other factors including age, gender and past experiences, which develop in three distinct phases. The initial phase occurs after the parents inform the child of the decision to separate. The transition phase begins about a year after the parents' separation and lasts up to about three years. Emotions are balanced and new family patterns develop, quality of life changes, and visitation routines with the noncustodial parent are established. Finally, the restabilization phase occurs approximately five years after separation, when the new single-parent family system is more stable. Several factors appear to influence children's adaptation process to the family crisis; sex and age of the child at the time of parental divorce, adults' use of available social support networks to help the child adjust, cultural attitudes towards divorce and single-parent families. Single-parent families and theirstransition through parental divorce mean so much to me because they can have such drastic effects on children of any age. These effects on children can be short-term or long-term, positive or harmful. Short-term effects include behavioral difficulties at home and school that occur in association with the initial reaction to separation. Long-term effects may not appear until adolescence or even adulthood, when individuals have difficulty forming relationships intimate. Other long-term effects appear later, during later stages of development. The sex of the child can also mediate such reactions. Boys have more adverse reactions to parental divorce than girls, although girls behave more adversely to parental remarriage. Additionally, children who enter blended families following the death of a parent and subsequent remarriage of the surviving parent may also face different and unique emotional challenges. Why is this important to you and your life? This specific topic of single-parent families and the transition to parental divorce applies to my life as I myself come from a single-parent family. Although I was born into a two-parent family, my parents decided to mutually separate at the age of 16, the summer before my freshman year of high school. This didn't surprise me, however. Things were starting to change in the house and as a child I could still sense them no matter how much they tried to keep them hidden. My father worked the night shift from seven in the evening to seven in the morning about three or four days a week alternating weekends. Having a job like that can be time consuming when you have kids because on the days you have to work, you sleep during the day and wake up just in time to get ready for work. But, during the times he was absent, he did NOTHING. He sat on the couch all day and watched television until he fell asleep. The days between father and daughter stopped and he gave the impression that he would have preferred to be left alone to sleep. So, everyone would always be upstairs in their own rooms doing their own thing. Even my mother, to the point where you wouldn't even think they were married, just roommates. After about two years of this nonsense, my mother sat down with both my younger sister and I and asked us how we would feel if they split up or if we wanted them to stay together. But my sister and I had become so tired of her not seeming happy with him or him being there, that we said we didn't need him. We could take care of everything ourselves. It wasn't even like he was contributing in the first place. And after this, the process began. August of that year came and I remember the first day I saw boxes in their bedroom. It hurt a little to know that my father was leaving, but I had to remind myself that it was the best thing for us. And I will happily admit that there was definitely a difference afterwards. We moved to another house in the same area, for other reasons, which also helped us freshen up. My home was definitely a happier place. How does it apply to the community? The issue of single parent families and parenting is a major issue in today's community due to the harmful risks it can pose to your children and their lives. Regardless of family structure, the quality of parenting is one of the best predictors of children's emotional and social well-being. Many single parents, however, find it difficult to function effectively as parents. Compared to parents who have always been married,.