The way children are raised has evolved with rapid social change in recent years. Although there are 70,000 babies born every year in the UK, many people don't fully realize the effects that having a child can have. An overwhelming number of today's parents and grandparents believe it is more difficult to raise a family now than it was a generation ago. This book looks at the reality of being a parent including the qualities that are needed and the types of support that are available to parents.
The information comes from a wide variety of sources and includes government reports and statistics, newspaper reports, features, magazine articles and surveys and literature from lobby groups and charitable organisations.
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Parenting Issues
Bringing up children, Today's parents less strict than a generation ago, The cost of a child? £166,000 and rising, Parental purse problems, Parental responsibility, Being a parent: the basics, Support for parents, Fathers aren't from Mars, Styles of parenting, The 'new man' myth, Full-time fathers, 1 in 3 fathers work 48+ hours a week, 100-hour-a-week women, Are you a six per center?, Kid gloves, When parents won't let go, Parents of teenagers: 'Are we failing as parents?', Family life: the basics, Kids? We can't afford them!, Friends are the new family.
Chapter Two: The Changing Family
British family life, Majority of births will soon be out of wedlock, Stepfamilies, Being a stepfamily, How to be a stepchild, 'Every step-parent fears that they really are a monster', Young people talk about divorce and separation, Talking to children about divorce, Children in one-parent families, Lone-parent families: action facts, Mixed blessings?, Britain's army of real-life 'supergrans', 'Blended families' and other euphemisms.
Key Facts
Additional Resources
Index
Acknowledgements
• An overwhelming number of today’s parents and grandparents believe it is more difficult to raise a family now than it was a generation ago. More than two-thirds (68%) of today’s parents say it was easier to bring up children in their parents’ day and nearly three-quarters (73%) of grandparents agree with them. (page 1)
• Raising a child from birth to 21 costs almost £166,000, according to research. (page 3)
• Children whose fathers take an active role in their upbringing are more likely to do well at school and avoid getting into trouble with the police. (page 7)
• Most dependent children (80 per cent) live with their father, but one in 50 children live only with their father. (page 11)
• One in five couples surveyed said that they had come to the decision not to have children at all. More than one-third of those said it was because they were unwilling to compromise their lifestyle, while a further 15 per cent were put off by the cost. (page 18)
• Almost three in ten (27%) parents in ‘non-traditional’ families worry about paying the bills, compared to just 16% of those in ‘traditional’ families. (page 20)
• Recent statistics show that between a half and one-third of young people in the UK are likely to experience life in a single-parent family at some stage. (page 29)
Parenting Issues Study Guide
Each book in the Issues series has a study guide. These four-page guides provide a variety of discussion points and other activities to suit a wide range of ability levels and interests.
Publisher: Independence Educational Publishers
Price: £1.50
ISBN: 978 1 86168 382 3
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