Martinez 1 Juliana Martinez Professor Padgett English 1102 12 December 2013 Family Stability !o" #m$ortant is it% !

o" im$ortant is a stable family dynamic to the de&elo$ment of a child% Studies ha&e sho"n that 'hildren raised in intact families ha&e on average; higher academic achievement, better emotional health, and fewer behavioral problems and (1) of all high school dro$outs come from fatherless homes * times the national a&erage+ ,he $resence of a stable family dynamic is incredibly essential to the de&elo$ment and success of a child+ Some may as- "hat e.actly is a stable family and ho" can it really be defined+ ,hough there is not a concrete definition for "hat a stable family many ha&e attem$ted at gi&ing it a definition+ /fter doing research # found a definition that best agreed "ith my definition of a stable family+ #n an article about safety and stability for foster children 0renda Jones !arden does a great 1ob of defining a stable family 2Family stability is best &ie"ed as a $rocess of caregi&ing $ractices that "hen $resent can greatly facilitate healthy child de&elo$ment+340renda5 From this definition # "as able to $ic- out some significant factors that contribute to a stable family including ha&ing a t"o6$arent household ha&ing a financially stable household and ha&ing nurturing $arents+ ,a-ing all these factors into account one begins to realize ho" truly im$ortant a stable family and household has on a child7s de&elo$ment and success+

Martinez 2 !a&ing a t"o6$arent household is something that is im$ortant to a stable family dynamic+ / house6hold "ith t"o lo&ing $arents that get along "ith each other and are both acti&ely in&ol&ed in their child8children7s life is essential+ ,he number of 9S children li&ing in single6$arent homes has nearly doubled in :0 years+ 4/ndersen5 Statistics sho" that children "ho come from a single6$arent home ha&e more troubles scholastically and socially+ Es$ecially children that come from fatherless homes a gro"ing number of studies ha&e sho"n that ha&ing an absent father has a ma1or negati&e im$act on the social and emotional de&elo$ment of children+ / 2011 9ni&ersity of Melbourne study found that absent fathers "ere lin-ed "ith higher rates of 1u&enile delin;uency "hile a 'anadian study sho"ed that -ids "hose fathers "ere acti&e $arents in early and middle childhood had fe"er beha&ior $roblems and higher intellectual abilities as they gre" older e&en among socio6economically at6ris- families+ 4/ndersen5 ,his goes to sho" that the $resence of t"o $arents in a household is necessary for the de&elo$ment of a child+ <ot only is it 1ust households "ith absentee fathers or mothers but families "ith di&orced $arents should be ta-en into account as "ell+ 2/$$ro.imately :0) of all marriages in /merica end in Di&orce3 40eary5 and 2children from di&orced families are more li-ely to ha&e academic beha&ioral and $sychological $roblems than children from non6di&orced families+340eary5 Peo$le don7t really ta-e into account the effects that di&orce has on children and different from ha&ing an absentee father8mother di&orcee -ids ha&e to be s$lit bet"een t"o households+ ,his s$lit bet"een the families creates tension "ithin the family and in turn creates tension in a child7s life+ Some can

Martinez 3 argue that it does not ma-e a difference if both $arents are still in&ol&ed in a child7s life but the child has to constantly deal "ith the fact that their family has been torn a$art and is not li-e a regular family that all li&es under the same roof "ith t"o $arents that lo&e each other and this really ta-es a toll on a child7s mental and social health affecting ho" they relate to the outside "orld+ Part of ha&ing a stable family includes among other things ha&ing t"o $arents at home e;ually raising a child+ /nother -ey factor of a stable family is being financially stable+ #t is &ery im$ortant for a family to be financially "ell off+ 0eing financially stables means to ha&e all your basic needs met including shelter food and clothes and that money is not a stressor on your daily life+ Money can be the cause of many $roblems and "hen a family isn7t financially stable it can cause $roblems "ithin a marriage and a household+ ,here are t"o ty$es of $roblems that can occur "ithin a household "hen it comes to financial status+ ,here are the $arents "ho "or- too much trying to $ro&ide for their family or the $arents "ho don7t "or- at all maybe due to in1uries or lac- of 1obs a&ailable+ / lot of articles say that before a cou$le has a child they should ma-e sure they are financially stable and ready to su$$ort a child+ / child should not be brought into a "orld "here a family is in constant struggle for money this $uts stress on the child+ /s a child gro"s u$ in a financially unstable family they are forced to ta-e the role of not a child but an adult in the family as "ell+ Some -ids feel the need to get 1obs on to$ of their school"or"hich sometimes can lead to children dro$$ing out of school and 1ust "or-ing to $ro&ide for their family+ ,here is also the alternati&e "here you ha&e t"o $arents that are al"ays out "or-ing and are ne&er at home+ 'hildren gro"ing u$ in these households suffer from lac- of income lac- of interest or lac- of influence+ <ot only does this lead to a child

Martinez = feeling li-e their $arents are not there for them but it also $ushes them to go do"n a $ath of drug and alcohol abuse or ris-y beha&ior+ / financially stable family is a big factor in determining a stable family+ !a&ing a nurturing caring family is also im$ortant in a stable family dynamic and to a child7s de&elo$ment+ !a&ing t"o $arents that sho" lo&e and attention can ma-e a difference in the de&elo$ment of a child+ #n many cases -ids from bro-en families li-e ones "ith domestic &iolence alcohol8drug abuse or fighting bet"een s$ouses are fi&e times more li-ely to suffer mental troubles+ <ot only do the -ids gro"ing u$ in these homes suffer from the trauma of their $arent7s actions but they also suffer long term by follo"ing in the footste$s of their $arents+ / child gro"ing u$ in a family "here there is alcohol abuse deal "ith emotional struggles that "ill stay "ith them for the rest of their li&es+ Some of these include guilt an.iety the inability to ha&e close relationshi$s anger and de$ression+ /ll of these emotional struggles can affect a child in their academics and in their social life+ / child cannot gro" to their full $otential "hile a $arent "ith alcohol abuse $roblems is raising them+ ,he de&elo$ment of a child is really hindered "hen coming from a bro-en family+ Families "ith domestic &iolence also ha&e a ma1or strain on a child7s de&elo$ment+ 'hildren gro"ing u$ in these en&ironments e.$erience difficulties "ith beha&ioral social and emotional $roblems cogniti&e and attitudinal $roblems and long6term $roblems+ <urture and lo&e from $arents is something that can really affect the de&elo$ment of a child and it has a lot of affect on their future and ho" they relate to the "orld "hich is "hy it is a factor in defining a stable family+ E&en though a stable family dynamic is im$ortant for a child7s de&elo$ment there are cases "here $eo$le rise abo&e the norm and learn to mo&e $ast "hat ha$$ened to

Martinez : them as children+ ,his leads some to belie&e that a stable family dynamic isn7t necessary for a child7s de&elo$ment+ ,here are some e.am$les of this li-e in the memoir Stitches by Da&id Small+ ,his memoir goes through Smalls life from "hen he "as a young child all the "ay to his $resent life+ !e gre" u$ in an unstable family by the definition # ha&e gi&en to a stable family+ Small7s father "as absent through most of his life due to his 1ob and Small7s mother seemed to be cold hearted through out his "hole life as "ell+ /s small gre" u$ he also de&elo$ed a small gro"th on his nec- that "as ignored by his $arents until one day the doctors found out that it "as a cancerous gro"th and they had to cut it out+ 0y this time the gro"th "as so big that it damaged his &ocal chords and left a huge scar that "ould be there to fore&er remind him of the neglect of his $arents+ E&en though small "ent through all of this as a child he found his o"n "ay to co$e through the strain the family $ut on him and came out on the other end of the s$ectrum graduating college and coming out "ith a memoir of his life that "as a finalist for t"o 2010 >ill Eisner 'omic #ndustry /"ards+ Some may loo- at this e.am$le and thin- that this sho"s a stable family dynamic isn7t im$ortant in the de&elo$ment and success of a child but # "ould li-e to argue that this is a rare case and is not common in most unstable family homes+ /lthough this story ma-es a good $oint that there is ho$e for children being raised in these unstable en&ironments it still does not trum$ the massi&e amounts of research that sho"s most -ids raised in unstable family dynamics struggle throughout life+ #n conclusion the $resence of a stable family dynamic is incredibly essential to the de&elo$ment and success of a child+ >ith all the research done on this sub1ect it is hard to say that this is not true though of course it is not to say that there are not e.ce$tions to

Martinez ? this most children raised in a stable family dynamic ha&e a brighter future ahead of them+ !a&ing to ha$$y su$$orting $arents at home ha&ing a financially stable home and ha&ing a nurturing home life are 1ust a cou$le of the factors that are ta-en into account "hen deciding "hat a stable family dynamic is+

Martinez ( >or-s 'ited /ndersen @irsten+ A,he number of 9S children li&ing in single6$arent homes has nearly doubled in :0 yearsB 'ensus data+A Life Site News+ <+$+ 0= Jan 2013+ >eb+ 2 Dec 2013+ Chtt$B88"""+lifesitene"s+com8ne"s8the6number6of6children6li&ing6in6 single6$arent6homes6has6nearly6doubled6in8D+ 0eary 0en+ A>ill ,his Di&orce /ffect Me%+A CEDU+ <orthern #llinois 9ni&ersity + >eb+ 2 Dec 2013+ Chtt$B88"""+cedu+niu+edu8Eshumo"8iit8D#FGH'E+$dfD+ McIanahan Sara and Jary Sandefur+ Growing Up With a Single Parent: What hurts, What helps+ 9nited States of /merica B Fello"s of !ar&ard 'ollege 1**=+ Print+ Small Da&id+ Stitches+ <e" Kor-B >+>+ <orton L 'om$any #nc+ 200*+ Print+ 'oo-sey Elizabeth ' and Michelle M+ Fondell+ AS$ending ,ime "ith !is @idsB Effects of Family Structure on FathersM and 'hildrenMs Ii&es+A Journal of Marriage and Family+ :N+3 41**?5B ?*36(0(+ Print+ 0renda Jones !arden+ AJournal #ssueB 'hildren Families and Foster 'are+A ,he Future of 'hildern + <+$+ n+d+ >eb+ 3 <o& 2013+ AParenting Statistics+A Dad's World+ <+$++ >eb+ 3 Dec 2013+ Chtt$B88"""+dads"orld+com8$arenting6statistics8im$ortance6of6fathers+htmlD+ AFamily Facts +A enefits of !a"il# for Children and $dults+ ,he !ertige Foundation + >eb+ 3 Dec 2013+ Chtt$B88"""+familyfacts+org8briefs8?8benefits6of6family6for6 children6and6adultsD+ A0ro-en Families+A World %"pact+ >orld #m$act #nc+ >eb+ 3 Dec 2013+ Chtt$B88"orldim$act+org8bro-en6familiesD+ A'hildren of /lcoholics+A $"erican $cada"e# of Child and $dolescent Ps#chiatr#+ ,he /merican /cademy of 'hild and /dolescent Psychiatry 4//'/P5 n+d+ >eb+ 3

Martinez N Dec 2013+ Chtt$B88"""+aaca$+org8//'/P8FamiliesOandOKouth8FactsOforOFamilies8FactsOf orOFamiliesOPages8'hildrenOGfO/lcoholicsO1(+as$L.gtP+ 'hild >elfare #nformation Jate"ay + ADomestic Fiolence and the 'hild >elfare System+A Child Welfare %nfor"ation Gatewa#+ <+$+ n+d+ >eb+ 3 Dec 2013+ Chtt$sB88"""+child"elfare+go&8$ubs8factsheets8domesticO&iolence8im$act+cfmD+