by Hermes Roberts

Created on: September 10, 2010   Last Updated: September 29, 2011

There are many lessons to be learnt from being poor, such as fortitude, endurance and gratitude, but each child is still entitled to an education. Some people are able to compensate in life for the lack of education, while others are never able to accomplish anything.

The structure of the family unit is important to how much education the child gets and absorbs.

Single-parent families have a higher risk of poverty and their children have a higher drop out rate in school. These households are usually run by the mother. If the father is entirely absent from the life of the child, the mother has to be extremely vigilant when it comes to discipline and supporting the child. Their progress in school depend on these factors. It also depends on the financial situation in the home. If the mother has a good paying job, the child is more likely to succeed. On the other hand, 50% of female-headed single parent families live in poverty. There are 12.9 million single-parent families in the United States and 1.4 million in Canada.

A child coming from such a family doesn't necessarily feel different as there are others in the same situation. Some children who have no contact with their fathers may feel some neglect from their mothers who have to work and take care of everything. Such children become rebellious and then school work suffer. If there is poverty, they will lack for everything. Their brains may be starved for nutritious food and they can't concentrate. Poor nutrition leads to low self-esteem, irritable and aggressive behavior, lower literacy, absenteeism and even obesity in children. Some of these children are also neglected by their mothers who use what money they have to support their male companions. It is not surprising that such children are rebellious and do poorly in school.

There are attempts to mitigate the consequences of some of these conditions. For over 40 years, in the United States the U.S.D.A., United States Department of Agriculture has been providing nutritious, balanced low cost or free lunches to more than 30 million children each day. Unfortunately, Canada has no national school meal program. Some non-profit organisations like Foodshare.org are trying to fill this gap that exist. Single-parent families could get come helpful information from the website at OnlyMums.org or OnlyDads.org. Canadian single families could get some information at Canadianparents.com.

Parent or parents should do everything to make sure that their children live in an atmosphere to enable them to benefit from an education.

Learn more about this author, Hermes Roberts.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.