As a single mother, I already had an inkling, but USA today has decided to share the news with the world today. Yes, everyone Single moms' sons can succeed! and new research backs it.
Was I the only mom who teared up when Obama brought up his mother last night? His sister, Maia, brought me to tears speaking about his mother on NPR yesterday as well. It was a happy, teary day.
In the USA Today article, Cambridge researcher Michael Lamb states that for decades, family researchers expressed concerns that "were driven by a lot of cultural assumptions, which led them to propose kids are better off in the traditional family." He goes on to say "The evidence, on the whole, hasn't supported that, but the beliefs have persisted in society."
Lamb summarizes: "What's important is not whether they are raised by one or two parents. It's how good is the relationship with the parent, how much support they're getting from that parent and how harmonious is the environment."
I consistently see this in my classroom: I would say that in my high school homeroom classroom, half the kids are raised by single parents (single mothers). They fare no better nor worse than the kids raised in traditional mother/father homes. The kids who are struggling appear to be the ones that do not connect with any parent at all; the families where harmony is replaced with economic struggle (a.k.a. mom and dad have to work two jobs and are never around, dad is stressed out because he doesn't have enough money to pay school fees, mom is stressed out because she can't afford to pay her medical bills) or personal struggle (mom and dad fight all the time, mom is more interested in her newest boyfriend, dad screams at me all the time, etc. etc. - I've heard it all). Kids don't prosper in stressed out homes, no matter whether the home be headed by a single parent or a mother/father combo.
In any case, it is great to see some men raised by single mothers figure so prominently in the spotlight today. Their confidence, hope, and the love that shines from them for their moms is enough to make any (single) mom melt. It was touching to see Debbie Phelps cry with joy as she watched her son win race after race in the Olympics, knowing that supporting his swimming passion took a lot of rides to and fro from the pool, a lot of rushed meals, many late arrivals and early departures from her job, tons of early morning wake-ups for swimming meets, loads of cheering and support and love. Touching to see the pictures of Barack Obama with his mom: couldn't you just see how fiercely proud of him she really was? I am saddened when I think that she isn't here to watch her son - the one she woke up at 4:30 a.m. to tutor - become President. But like all moms, she knew in her heart that he was on to accomplish great things.
Isn't that all a child really needs in life? Someone, anyone - a mother, a father, an aunt, a brother, a sister - someone to stand behind him and believe in him with all their hearts?