# Is There A Better Single Parent

- Link: https://thechildsupporthustle.com/the-better-single-parent-and-the-missing-statistics/
- Published: 2024-09-30T11:36:14+00:00
- Author: MsRockMon

![Man and two girls](https://thechildsupporthustle.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/
IMG_4043.png "Is There A Better Single Parent 1")

Source: Estate and Probate Legal Group

# **Statistics Say No**

Kenya N Rahmaan

The ‘studies’ that The Fathers’ Rights Movement claims to prove that single fathers
are somehow better than single mother homes do NOT show any such data. These studies,
often cited in support of their argument, are typically outdated and fail to consider
the changing dynamics of modern families.

A former Pew Research Center and Branch Chief of Quantitative Research for the Women’s
Bureau for the U.S. Department of Labor, Gretchen Livingston, published an article
in 2013 entitled_ “The Rise of Single Fathers: Ninefold Increase Since 1960.” _The
meticulous fact-sharing and researched data show a significant increase in single-
father households and characteristics of the rising population.

What is missing is the very data that father’s rights groups often reference when
sharing the Pew Research Center’s article to support the inference that single fathers
are better parents than single mothers are statistics to prove their claim. Livingston’s
thoroughly researched data reveals that long-term time-use data analysis shows that
fathers are narrowing the still sizable gap with mothers in the amount of time they
spend with their children.

A few more points in the article lend themselves to the claim of better parenting
based on gender. Livingston shares that:

Like single mothers, single fathers

 * are typically less educated and less well-off than their married counterparts,
 * They are also younger and less likely to be white,
 * Households headed by single fathers appear to be much better off financially 
   when compared with those headed by single mothers,
 * Single-father householders are more likely to be white than single-mother householders,
 * Single-father households are less likely to be white than married-father householders,
 * Single fathers are much less likely to be black (15%) compared with single mothers(
   28%),
 * Single fathers are likelier to be Black than fathers in married two-parent households(
   7%), and
 * Almost one-fourth (24%) of single-father households lived at or below the poverty
   level, compared with just 8% of married-father households and 43% of single-mother
   households.

 

Lastly, according to Senior Chief Livingston (2013), although Black fathers are 
the most likely to be heads of single-father households at 29%, this share drops
to 20% among Hispanic fathers and 14% among White fathers. The information provided
debunks the wildly believed myth that Black fathers are more likely to desert their
children and become deadbeat fathers. These are a few statistics relating to single
fathers compared to single mothers and married parents. Similar to the other commonly
shared sources to support the recently popular push of parental competition, the
data used to reach these statistics are outdated.

The Pew article, while highly informative, is over 20 years old. In the now-viral
article by Elicia Jane, former sex worker and current therapist, “_Single Father
Households Do Vastly Better Than Single Mother Households–Here’s the Real Reason
Why_,” the implication that single fathers do better than single mothers is misleading.
In reality, single fathers tend to have higher incomes than single mothers; however,
the researchers based this conclusion on comparing both to two-parent households.

According to Jane (2023), studies have found that children from single-mother households
are:

 * Five times more likely to commit suicide than children from both unbroken households
   and single-father households,
 * Nine times more likely to drop out of high school,
 * Ten times more likely to abuse chemical substances,
 * 14 times more likely to commit rape,
 * 20 times more likely to end up in prison and
 * 32 times more likely to run away from home.

 

The statistics may have been accurate two decades ago, but the family structure 
has drastically changed since 1960. There is greater extended family involvement,
which means single mothers are not alone when raising their children. This extended
support network plays a crucial role in the lives and outcomes of single-parent 
families, challenging the monolithic mantra applied to lone parents.

The debate should not be about which gender is a better parent but which parents
provide the safest, most loving, and nurturing environment for children. Parents
may comfortably achieve this lifestyle by marrying and raising children within a
nuclear family structure. On the other hand, a plethora of unmarried parents who
share children have adopted alternate family structures in the best interest of 
their children. Embracing co-parenting as a healthy and viable option can empower
parents to provide the best possible environment for their children.

[https://thechildsupporthustle.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/IMG_1174-2.jpegwp-content/uploads/2025/08/IMG_1174-2-1.jpeg?p=95395](https://thechildsupporthustle.com/the-better-single-parent-and-the-missing-statistics/"https://thechildsupporthustle.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/IMG_1174-2.jpegwp-content/uploads/2025/08/IMG_1174-2-1.jpeg?p=95395")

This approach, as highlighted by Nationwide Children’s Hospital (2023), can lead
to greater overall well-being and fewer behavioral problems for children. Nationwide
Children’s Hospital (2023), research shows that children in homes with a unified
parenting approach have greater overall well-being and fewer behavioral problems.
Parents of both genders can have positive and negative effects on their offspring;
the behavior towards the children and the results of raising them to adulthood as
a solo parent has yet to be determined. What is clear right now is that both parents
are essential, and neither is ‘better’ than the other.  Stop letting them lie to
you.

References:

Jane, E. (2024, March 7). _Single father households do vastly better than single
mother - here’s the real reason why_. Medium. https://medium.com/the-knowledge-of-
freedom/single-father-households-do-vastly-better-than-single-mother-heres-the-real-
reason-why-8a7fd7c5611d

Livingston, G. (2013, July 2). _The rise of Single Fathers_. Pew Research Center.
https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2013/07/02/the-rise-of-single-fathers/?
fbclid=IwY2xjawFnleFleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHbZ5NJx4nq43gikrnw8ztIxxRVBAK-dXIO00bXOSPnX8Y9rug31MDazkHg_aem_2bEZwM288oHNk8GVqf5hpw

Nationwide Children’s Hospital. (2023, April 25). _Is your co-parenting relationship
healthy?_. Nationwide Children’s Hospital. https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-
resources-education/700childrens/2023/04/healthy-coparenting