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The Tough Lives Of Young Single Mothers
from: Karlie BestlerEveryone knows it is hard to be a single mother. Young single mothers have almost impossible hurdles to overcome to keep from falling into poverty. Young single moms usually are comprised of young adults between the ages of 13 to 20 years of age. Young single moms are the segment of the population most likely to end up on social welfare programs for single mothers, with 75% of them going on public welfare for single young mothers within five years of the birth of their first child.
Single mothers who have become so through the death of a spouse or divorce, or even by choice, often have gotten to the stage in their lives where they have finished high school and have been in the employment market already and have obtained some skills. However, young single mothers often become pregnant before finishing high school and subsequently many drop out. Dropping out of high school impacts their ability to get employment and to move up the economic ladder the entire time they are working if the situation is not rectified.
Unfortunately, it is usually difficult for young single mothers to return to school after the birth of a child. Due to their youth, many single mothers have poor nutritional habits and also have habits like drinking alcohol or smoking that can adversely affect the health of the baby.
There are also studies that babies born to teenage mothers often suffer from low birth weight, which leads to further health complications. As the children grow, statistics show that many will be at risk for being retained a grade in school or doing poorly on scholastic achievement tests. The male children have a higher risk of being imprisoned. The female children have a higher risk of repeating the single mother cycle themselves.
Cultural issues of propriety and faith may also keep a single mother from returning to complete her education. She may be influenced by her parents to either get married quickly or to return home to raise her child without finishing school. Either way, her education is halted and her ability to earn income for her children is significantly hindered. She more than likely will end up on welfare.
Single mothers statistics further show that even after young single mothers reach the age of 30 only 1.5% of them manged to earn a college degree. There are many programs for single mothers that aim at trying to keep the teenage single mother in school but childcare becomes a primary issue as it is with all single mothers. With a limited support system at home and lost time in school, the young single mother finds it very difficult to stay in school.
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