Time and again, single parents need to answer endless questions about whether they truly deserve to get pensions. They always need to defend themselves from critics, and they do, especially when this concerns not just their welfare but also their children’s.
Why is there a need for single parent pension? For one, single parents’ time have to be literally divided among various responsibilities such as taking care of their children, working part-time (or full-time if it is even possible) and handling household errands.
These are just some of the activities that take chunks of their time. Their responsibilities do not end in merely feeding their children or watching over them.
Once their children start going to school, parents are also required to attend PTCs (Parent-Teacher Conferences) to get feedback about how their children are doing or watch their children perform.
On a regular basis, they need to bring them to the doctor or to the dentist and accompany their children when they go on playdates. They have quite a long list of responsibilities and roles.
Now since they are partly taking care of the children and are getting involved in their children’s school activities, they will most likely not be able to work full-time. Not being able to work full-time has lots of disadvantages in terms of pay, benefits and career growth.
But their situation usually leaves them no choice. They also have their relationship with their children to nurture and prioritize and they want to create a balance between work and family as much as possible.
As single parents, the last thing that they would want is not to have time for their children. They need to work but their children also need them. They cannot just work like there is no tomorrow because their children will be waiting for them – and they will not be children forever.
Most of them, then, have to work part-time unless they have grandparents, relatives or caregivers who are willing to keep an eye on them will they work full-time. In other cases, single parents cannot work at all due to a lot of factors.
Not all can afford childcare. Furthermore, education is a key factor, especially for single moms who have not taken a higher degree of education.
Consequently, in as much as they want to find a well-paying job to be good providers, it is difficult for them because they are not qualified in terms of educational background, skills and experience.
Temporarily, government assistance can really help them a great deal to get their degree and eventually land a job with a promising career opportunity.
While they are in the process of getting their education or getting employed, realistically sufficient pensions, among their other single parent benefits can lead them and their children to survive the horrible fate of drowning in poverty.
For instance, in Australia, there has been a devastating reduction of single parent pensions which took effect early this year. Though they are given Newstart allowances, these are not sufficient to support their families.
There is nothing wrong about the government’s intention to encourage single parents to work. But the factors mentioned earlier must be taken into great consideration before arriving at a decision to make a significant cut from the pensions.
The underlying issues are not just about forcing single parents to work, there are more to be studied and analyzed.
It might help if the government will study single parents’ cases extensively, categorize, to determine who among them badly needs assistance, find out the root cause of their difficulty and how they can be helped.
Next Article:- Single Mum Benefits
Why is there a need for single parent pension? For one, single parents’ time have to be literally divided among various responsibilities such as taking care of their children, working part-time (or full-time if it is even possible) and handling household errands.
These are just some of the activities that take chunks of their time. Their responsibilities do not end in merely feeding their children or watching over them.
Once their children start going to school, parents are also required to attend PTCs (Parent-Teacher Conferences) to get feedback about how their children are doing or watch their children perform.
On a regular basis, they need to bring them to the doctor or to the dentist and accompany their children when they go on playdates. They have quite a long list of responsibilities and roles.
Now since they are partly taking care of the children and are getting involved in their children’s school activities, they will most likely not be able to work full-time. Not being able to work full-time has lots of disadvantages in terms of pay, benefits and career growth.
 |
| P.C: USAG- Humphreys |
As single parents, the last thing that they would want is not to have time for their children. They need to work but their children also need them. They cannot just work like there is no tomorrow because their children will be waiting for them – and they will not be children forever.
Most of them, then, have to work part-time unless they have grandparents, relatives or caregivers who are willing to keep an eye on them will they work full-time. In other cases, single parents cannot work at all due to a lot of factors.
Not all can afford childcare. Furthermore, education is a key factor, especially for single moms who have not taken a higher degree of education.
Consequently, in as much as they want to find a well-paying job to be good providers, it is difficult for them because they are not qualified in terms of educational background, skills and experience.
Temporarily, government assistance can really help them a great deal to get their degree and eventually land a job with a promising career opportunity.
While they are in the process of getting their education or getting employed, realistically sufficient pensions, among their other single parent benefits can lead them and their children to survive the horrible fate of drowning in poverty.
For instance, in Australia, there has been a devastating reduction of single parent pensions which took effect early this year. Though they are given Newstart allowances, these are not sufficient to support their families.
There is nothing wrong about the government’s intention to encourage single parents to work. But the factors mentioned earlier must be taken into great consideration before arriving at a decision to make a significant cut from the pensions.
The underlying issues are not just about forcing single parents to work, there are more to be studied and analyzed.
It might help if the government will study single parents’ cases extensively, categorize, to determine who among them badly needs assistance, find out the root cause of their difficulty and how they can be helped.
Next Article:- Single Mum Benefits
No Comment to " Single Parent Pension: Holding on Till the Last Drop "