Parenting is difficult. Regardless of your family situation, raising a child is a challenging task. When you do not have the help of a second parent, you have extra hurdles to overcome.
While single-parent families are more common today, there is still a disparity in how society views single moms versus single dads.
Gender-based expectations
Single parents have markedly different experiences regarding how others perceive them as parents.
Single moms
Despite immense progress in gender norms, people still expect women to maintain an idealized standard of parenting. Single mothers often experience criticism for not executing all childrearing responsibilities flawlessly.
Single dads
Single parenting as a man holds a different set of expectations. People generally assume fathers have little natural skills regarding children’s care. Strangers are quick to praise them for performing basic parenting tasks. However, dads also encounter people hesitant to allow them to handle things such as playdates or school events.
Workplace challenges
Statistics show that single mothers earn less income than single fathers, even with child support. Often, hiring managers think single parents, especially women, are problematic. While many workplaces make it difficult for single parents to juggle their jobs with their childrearing responsibilities, women are typically more affected. The societal expectation that mothers are less committed to their careers creates a culture where single moms have to prove themselves by working long hours or outperforming co-workers.
Sole-parenting presents unique challenges that can be physically and mentally taxing. Society places additional burdens on single mothers by expecting perfection both at work and at home.