Single parenting, quite obviously, is the practice of nurturing and raising children without having another adult equally involved in the process. But the realities of “single parenting” vary from culture to culture.

Single parenting can be the result of a voluntary decision. Women who choose to have a child by artificial insemination, or beome pregnant outside of marriage, unmarried persons who adopt children, or those parents who are widowed, divorced, or simply deserted by their spouses are all single parents. But the circumstances of their single parenting can have as much, if not more, of an effect on their children as their efforts at single parenting do.

Those who engage in single parenting out of choice are more likely to have planned for the costs of raising children, and had time to establish the network of social and emotional support which will make their single parenting efforts more of a community affair.

Having a support network is even more essential to those attempting single parenting not by choice but from necessity; very young single parents, or those with limited education and income opportunities are especially vulnerable to the stresses of single parenting. If an extended family is available to step in and take on the child care duties from time to time, not only the children, but the single parent, will have a much easier time.

Single parenting, as portrayed in the media today, is a far cry from the realities of single parenting for most of the people who experience it. Single parent adoptions by such celebrities as Angelina Jolie in her pre-Brad Pitt life, Madonna, and Rosie O’Donnell have given exposure to the practice, and may have even increased attempts to adopt orphaned children from the poorer parts of the world. But they do little to reflect the real struggles which single parenting can bring.

Single parenting, more often than not, means financial stress, a parent who has to make an extra effort to keep the emotional bonds and communication with his or her children strong, and older siblings often having to carry a larger share of the household responsibilities than his or her friends from two parent households. Single parenting can even mean that the parent places an inappropriate amount of reliance on young children, involving them in discussions of family finances and other troubles which would normally be shared only with a spouse.

Single parenting, especially when it has not been chosen, is one of the biggest challenges someone can face and if it means anything, it means built a foundation of appropriate communication and trust with children when they are young. Work done successfully then will pay off in huge dividends when they are old enough to step in and shoulder some of the family responsibilities.