Parents: Their Relationships with Each Other, Their Children, and the Affects

Parents: Their relationships with each other, their children, and the affects.

Every household is different in every way. Children come from different ethnic backgrounds, have different genetics, and also have different families. The way their families interact with each other, as well as outside parties, have an everlasting impact on children. Children, quite naturally, respond different the each parent as well as to different types of parents and living situations. Not to mention that family situations are constantly changing, therefore hard to track. (1)

"Quite clearly, children born into first marriages, rather than to cohabiting parents, enjoy much higher chances of growing up in two-parent families." (2) Children growing up in families consisting of two married parents, one man and one woman, have higher rates of surpassing poverty levels, do better in school and have significantly lower drop out rates. (3) Also, children coming from families of single, divorced, or remarried parents were twice as likely to pull a gun or a knife on someone. (4) Thus, families of both biological parents are less likely to engage in or become victims of violent offenses. A study conducted in 1973, and again in 1995, indicates that children coming from homes of divorce do not experience much change in violence. Where as children born out of wedlock where ninety times more likely to experience, and engage in, such acts. (5)

The timeless tradition of two, married, biological parents is surprisingly becoming a rarity these days. The correlation between children of "broken homes" and children that were lucky enough to be born into a stable family is absolutely relevant. Parents need to be a part of their children's lives. However, sometimes parents just cannot see eye to eye, therefore, ending in divorce. When divorce occurs the separation of the child and one parent seems to be inevitable, but it is the responsibility of both parents to make sure that the parent-child relationship continues as ever loving and ever lasting, as before. When divorce occurs it is natural for the child to feel abandoned and/or let down. (6) The affects of divorce can be one of everlasting trauma to self identity and self worth with the child. Children often times feel to blame for the break in the family, and often times can and will go to unspeakable lengths to regain the lifestyle that once was. Children

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