BBC news using the phrase "broken home"

Yes, it's a poor description. A violent / disruptive home with a shit father would have been a better description for it.

I would have loved my parents to separate, and to never see my father again. You don’t speak for me. There are many scenarios I can think of where the child would welcome a one parent household wholeheartedly. It’s not least worst or anything like it! You are making some very narrow assumptions there.

Changing the language doesn't change the circumstances. However you want to describe a situation that began as a 2 parent family unit which then fell apart, it's broken, for whatever reason.

I agree with you OP, and a lot of posters don’t seem to understand your point.

Childhood homes come in many shapes and sizes, including idyllic 2-parent households, abusive 2-parent households, happy single-parent households, miserable single-parent households, grandparents, foster parents and so on.

The term “broken home” means that there has been a split between the parents, and the children now live with one parent. I think it’s offensive to talk about this situation as if it is always a negative thing. Plenty of kids have perfectly happy childhoods in single-parent households. And plenty of kids have a miserable time in 2-parent households. There is so much more to childhood than whether or not your parents are together, and it’s wrong to use such a crude blanket phrase as “broken home”.

Abusive homes are indeed “broken”, but that’s not what the phrase means.

When you combine that knowledge with how casually the advice to 'LTB' is thrown around along with such vacuous slogans as 'you only have one life and you deserve to be happy', perhaps there should be a bit more stigma?

"My DH works in the ER. The other night he was dealing with the aftermath of a train crash. He came home, crawled into bed and cried. When I got out of bed, I realised he'd left his pants on the floor.'

"I can't believe he's disrespected you like that! How dare he! He'll never change and there's no excuse. LTB!!!"

It’s a BBC article, whom as a news organisation are called out most of the time for being sensitive woke leftie liberals, so you would assume more aware of using phrases that can offend, it’s not some brash opinion news channel who don’t care, actively enjoy, causing offence to certain demographics (which single mothers - females only - will be one of those).

It might just be an accurate description in this instance.

Appropriate to describe Bradley Wiggins childhood, agree not always the case.

It’s an awful, outdated phrase which used to be used (79s, 80s, 90s at least) to describe single parent homes.

looking where to click to object.

77% of families with children have both parents present, 23% of families with children are headed by a single parent.

Of course those stats will stand as couples who have separated are far more likely to have abuse / dysfunction involved hence the relationship failed. However to refer to the home being broken I don’t think is correct or relevant actually, it puts focus on the negative being with the fact that the ‘family’ no longer remains together. These awful stats might also improve if single parents and their kids were better supported and treated with respect allowing them to thrive best

But don't a majority of marriages end in divorce so aren't a huge proportion of households at one point single parent families?

Less than you'd think. A big chunk of divorces either happen before there are any children/in childfree marriages, or after children have grown up. Most children grow up with both their parents.

I don't think it's wrong to acknowledge that having parents separate is a difficult experience for children even when handled well.

Sorry but I've always had raised eyebrows at people claiming kids with separated parents are lucky to have two wonderful homes, celebrate Christmas twice and even some claiming that it means "twice the love". It's very doth protest too much. Obviously separating can be the least worst option for a family but it's not fair to downplay how hard it can be on kids.

I wasn't responding to you but to another poster. I was just stating that I come from a broken home because my parents divorced. There was no abuse but at 11 their divorce broke me down and I suffered immensily because I felt my home was broken and therefore so was I.

I’m with you op also a single parent who walked away from a situation to protect my children. Nothing here is broken. Our lives are better for it. If families are living happily without marital stress great but those in controlling/abusive relationships are more damaging and in a worse situation for staying. Broken home seems an outdated term.

Statistically a child coming from a home with one parent is more likely to face many more problems that a child from a home with two parents. You may well be an exception, op, but your level of defensiveness suggests that you have more going on . I hate the idea of sanitising our language to pretend that certain children aren’t devastated by coming from a broken home.

Agree with you OP. I fixed my home when I left my abusive ex. Lone parenting my DD16 since she was 1. It’s very offensive and inaccurate.

It’s not appropriate language is it, troubled home, dysfunctional home, abusive home

Accorfing to internet 70% of children live with both parents. Obviously not all of them should.
Not all parents are married
Not all divorcees have children (or children together)

So a divorce statistic alone doesn’t tell you very much about children being brought up in a single parent household.

The family unit is broken. If you were single having a child you're family unit is not broken. I don't see what's wrong with "broken family", I come from one. Since you are reacting so negatively to it maybe you're projecting because you're divorced?

In this article, it says (paraphrasing) he grew up in poverty with an estranged (cock of a) father. Sounds pretty broken for a teenage boy.
It strongly suggests his dad was the weakest link here not the parent (mum) who stayed.

I understand your annoyance of the phrase, but there are times when broken home can be accurate, perhaps the journalist has more detailed information of his home life when growing up but not to clog the article up with a full biography chose those words to give an impression without going into detail.

It’s a valid interesting debate OP but possibly the wrong article as an example.

Absolutely ridiculous, outdated term.

Particularly in a country with high rates of divorce, single parents etc.

YANBU op.

But don't a majority of marriages end in divorce so aren't a huge proportion of households at one point single parent families?