I am in the middle of hosting the 30-Day “Living an Authentic Life Challenge.” This challenge supports building your most authentic self. Without being authentic, you will never be known or know anyone else. When you operate in authenticity, your world becomes a better place. Challenge yourself to operate in excellence!
For the month of November, I have shared discussions on purpose, leadership, community, wisdom, legacy, and so much more. When I discussed family, I discussed going back to basics. The dictionary defines a family as a group of one or more parents and their children living together as a unit. The traditional definition of an American family is a nuclear family that includes a husband, wife, and children that have extended relatives living separately from them.
This definition is very uncommon in this day and age. The United States is the #1 country with the most single-parent households followed by the United Kingdom, the country the U.S. was birthed from. According to the 2020 Census Bureau, there are over 18.5 million children in the U.S. that live with just their mother or their father. That’s 1 in 4 children. Half of all the children born in the U.S. live with a single parent. This means that children born in the U.S. are three times the number of children around the world living under similar arrangements.
Families with children headed by unwed mothers have a poverty rate of 31% while those headed by an unwed father had a poverty rate of 15%. The lowest poverty rate is 5% for families headed by a married couple. From an economic perspective, the breakdown of families has a direct correlation with the economic breakdown of a nation. There is a lot of talk about America's next great recession. To prevent an excessive financial breakdown in a country you
have to truly go back to the basics of family where there is a two-parent household
that supports the physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual well-being of our children.
Now, this information may sound strange coming from a woman that has been divorced, but it's because I'm divorced and now remarried that I have a clearer perspective of the level of dysfunction that can take place in a single-parent household and one that is headed by 2 parents striving to make sure the foundation is firm for the family to thrive. A nation’s identity and ability to thrive are founded on how the family is doing. There’s a misconception in the U.S. that most single-parent households are headed by non-white families.
In the U.S. the predominant ethnicity that exists is 65% White Americans. As I share this information, I am fully aware that saying White, Black, and Latina may not be socially acceptable terms, but they have been so clearly defined for years, that you know exactly what I am talking about. So, for the sake of argument, I am using those terms to ensure clarity.
White people make up most of the single parents in this country. This is followed by Black single mothers and then Hispanic single mothers. The ethnicity with the least number of single parents is Asian. There is really no surprise with these numbers. Statistically, Black people make up only 13% of the U.S. population. Hispanic and Latina people make up 18%, Asian 6%, and Native American and Hawaiian .3%. In terms of the poverty levels of single-mom households by ethnicity, white non-Hispanic and Asian women fare better than Native American, African American, and Latina single mothers. If single parenting in the U.S. runs across all ethnic lines, then why are Native American, African American, and Latina single mothers having greater difficulty?
A part of this lies in the fact that we need a fair system of government to help rebuild the walls of financial breakdown. It’s unfortunate, but the government has to stand in the gap when the family is in breakdown. When it comes to making a change in this country, it takes place by voting for people that will help make effective changes for the country. Research who is on the ballot and what is being asked, because this year in the U.S. there are so many questions being asked that have a significant impact on families. There is so much more to say about family, but this was Day 5.
If you want to join the discussion, there is still time to register. I look forward to seeing you.