An Open Letter to Mr. Taoiseach
Dear Taoiseach,
Hello! My name is Romeo, and I am a student at a charter school in Daly City. In my English Class, we have been completing a project about whether or not children have better outcomes when raised by two parents. Through this project I have realized that raising a child with two parents is a lot better than one. I wanted to write to you specifically, because 24.3% of the woman that live in Ireland are single mothers. Based on my research, I argue that children have better outcomes when raised by two parents because two parents offer more emotional support to their children, which also helps them do better academically. What do you think about this, Mr Taoiseach?
To start, children are offered more emotional support when raised by two parents. To give some context on this issue, two parents can help their child with school issues or her emotions. According to an article “https://www.childtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/2012-05DisadvantagedFamChildOutcomes.pdf” it states, “ Overall, we found that children and adolescents from disadvantaged families were less likely to engage in externalizing (acting out behavior) and display depression symptoms (sadness, feelings of worthlessness or withdrawn behavior), or to have been retained in a previous grade, when their mothers reported having emotional support with childrearing” (1). In other words two parents offer more emotional support to their children which will benefit them. This information is significant because a mother and father are responsible for making sure their children feels safe and comforted. According to parentingni.org, “Young children who grow with a secure and healthy attachment to their parents stand a better chance of developing happy and content relationships with others in their life. A child who has a secure relationship with parent learns to regulate emotions under strind in difficult situations(1). This information is significant because it let’s parents know that emotional support is really important for their children.
Furthermore, children do way better academically when raised by two parents. To give some context on this issue, a stable family is a major reason why kids do well in school. According to article,“Children do better academically with two parents”, it states, “Children who were in what the researchers characterized as a “fragile family”, where parents were cohabiting or there was a lone parent, were twice as likely not to graduate from high school.” This means that a single parent can’t fulfill a child’s needs to do well in school. This information is significant because parents want their child to do well in school, so that in the future, they can have a good job and live a healthy life. Additionally, according to an article from NYU it states, “ In 1965, Assistant Secretary of Labor Daniel Patrick Moynihan published a report that found that 51 percent of low-income children entering adolescence were living in single-parent households. Over the next three decades, this figure jumped to 75 percent” (1). This information is significant because it shows how two parents can leave a big impact on their child’s academics. Overall, this data shows how it’s better for children to be raised by two parents.
Some might argue, that a single mother can be helpful for a child because since the mom can’t do all the household chores, the child can start building new habits that’ll help them later on in the future. What the author means here is that you can become more mature when raised by a single mother because you’ll be more accountable for things to be done at home. However it is also true that having two parents can better support their child because they can provide more resources and financial support to the family. Therefore, being raised by two parents definitely benefits a child in many ways, whether it’s emotional support, financial support, or just having more resources to provide for their child. Do you think it’s better for a child to be raised by one parent or two parents?
Therefore, I implore you to reach out to all the single mothers in Ireland and support them with some cash because they have all been working their butts off and giving them some extra money will help them with the things they’re struggling the most, whether it’s paying the bills, getting food, or buying12 supplies for their child. I implore you to make a difference in your country, so that it will inspire other countries to help single parents. This will make a difference because it’ll help single parents not feel lonely or left out anymore. That way they can feel welcome to other people and not have to worry about paying the next bill, or having enough money for food.
Thank you, Romeo
