Today, I overheard two people debating parenting today on Metro. Same debate we hear on a regular. The same debate that I normally try to stay out of. You know, the conversations regarding which parent should be responsible for raising a child. Too often we hear:
“A woman cannot raise a boy to be a man; there are things she is unable to teach him that a father could” or “A man cannot raise a little girl, for there are things only a mother can clue her in on”
Both to which I do believe are true but not impossible to do. Especially since there are some individuals that are not parent material from the jump. Individuals that could not contribute to the child even if they were the same-sex. Nevertheless, when I hear these debates I always find myself kind of raising an eyebrow. People always ignore the other scenario in parenting and raising a child alone. Like raising a child of the same-sex as the parent is any less difficult. Can someone please clue me in on that? You never hear that “a mother cannot raise a daughter or a father cannot raise a son alone”. Like that statement isn’t true as well (Again, everyone isn’t parent material).
Do you know of any people who could fit into that statement? (I do).
I do believe that in a single parent household, something will be missing (I’m not neglecting that truth… I wish everyone could have a two parent household but that isn’t reality). However, I do believe that depending on the parent, their persona, qualities and well wishes for the child will determine if the parent will pull that extra weight to make sure that it does not hinder the growth and/or well-being of the child.
I’m just saying…What do you think?
FYI… a lot of single parents (male and female) are KILLING it (and are doing an awesome job)!
Kayotic Konfessions 