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Lone parentsThe hard facts | Lisa's story | Links | Organisations Since the 1960s the stigma attached to being a lone parent has been eroded. The days when a pregnant daughter was packed off to another part of the country before her bump became too obvious, not to return until the child had been born and put up for adoption, are fortunately long gone. The hard factsBut being a lone parent is still a tough path to tread. The typical income of a lone parent is less than half that of a two-parent household and lone parents have overtaken pensioners as the poorest group in the UK. Lone parents account for only 8% of the population, but they make up 20% of those in poverty. Fifty per cent of one-parent families live on gross weekly incomes of less than £150, compared to 4% of married couples and 9% of cohabiting couples. And, in 1999, almost three in five lone parents were on Income Support, and one in four of the remainder were claiming Family Credit. Although three in five lone parents are divorced, separated or widowed, those who have never been married make up the fastest-growing group. But still only one in seven lone mothers have never lived with the child’s father: in 1998, 79% of births to lone mothers were registered by both parents, and 77% of these registrations showed that the parents were living at the same address. It seems that most women still opt for having children in a relationship, but when it breaks down they are likely to retain custody and to shoulder the economic burden. Along with shortage of money often come poor housing, health problems and debts. For lone parents who are also studying full-time, student loans may have to be boosted by borrowing from commercial sources, and two-thirds are unable to buy the books they need. Three-quarters report that their financial struggles have adversely affected their studies. Lisa's storyIt’s obvious that a supportive family can make all the difference to a lone parent. Lisa, a 22-year-old lone mother from Essex, told VEE-TV about her own experiences. Lisa attended Mary Hare Grammar School, and while in the sixth form she met Simon, who is hearing. After finishing school she returned home to study at a local college, seeing Simon at weekends – but just a month into the first term she discovered she was pregnant. Lisa was happy with Simon and unhappy with her college course, so it wasn’t a hard decision to move in with Simon and have the baby. They set up home in a housing-association flat in Newbury, in Berkshire, but Lisa felt she didn’t fit in with the local mother-and-toddler groups, and eventually she and Simon split up. Now back with her mother in Hornchurch, Essex, Lisa has plenty of friends with small children and is planning to start an interior-design course at the University of East London in September, when Rylan will be starting school. Lisa feels some regret at having become pregnant so young, and wishes she could have gone to university and had the chance to travel before shouldering the responsibilities of being a mother. She says she is lucky to have the support of her mother plus the chance to work sometimes in her mother’s business for extra cash. LinksThe Baby
Registry Childcare
Link Directory
for Single Mothers Health
in Focus NannyJob Patient
UK Stepfamilies UK Parents OrganisationsGingerbread National
Council for One Parent Families One Parent
Families Scotland Parentline
Plus Save
the Children (UK)
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