Why are there so many single parents

[Nowhereqw]

Don't mean to offend anyone but I am new to UK and noticed there are so many single parents.
I am from Asia and most families I know have two parents so I am just curious about it.

I am a solo mum by choice. I chose to have my dc through fertility treatment with donor sperm. And I certainly DO NOT expect support from the government. I pay my way 100%. I work full time and earn a decent wage. In fact I don't expect anything from the government despite earning less that family member. My brother and his partner earn just under £50,000 each (just under £100,000 between them) and are entitled in full to child benefits. Whereas I as a single parent household who will be earning £51,000 from November will have to pay back some of the child benefit back at the end of the tax year as I'm a higher tax earner. The government don't support single parents and I don't expect them to!!! Get your facts right and don't lump everyone in the same bucket.

It isn't the Government supporting them it is the Taxpayer

What age might that be? I'm late 50s and I love living with my dh

Obviously there are very genuine and real reasons why people split. Which is why I said ‘sometimes’. The situation you’ve described is absolutely grounds for divorce (although in some instances, the marriage can be rescued)I was making the point that some people bail out of a marriage for trivial reasons too, or for reasons which can be fixed with just a bit of work. I’ve read posts on MN where someone’s described a situation which is (in my eyes anyway) not a massive issue, but will then see a few posters saying LTB. Not every small misdemeanour or error of judgement needs to lead to the divorce courts.

People jump into having babies with people they don’t know well enough, know would be unsuitable parents. The list is endless, they have a baby and invariably break up, I’m a strong believer in marriage before children.

Because too many women are so desperate to have children they have them with totally unsuitable men. They know the men are unsuitable but they are too selfish to care

@LifeIsHardAlways as the single adoptive parent of two children, I’m curious to know who you would have me marry (because I will happily board my Time Machine and backtrack to the early 2000s in my hunt).

Just to blow your (tiny) mind, I had both of my children without the involvement of a man.

Mixture of some men being arseholes and some women wanting children so much that they’ll procreate with unsuitable men.

Funny how it's always the woman's fault....

Because there's so many men who can't keep their dick in their pants. That's the reason I'm a single parent.

@niclw I get your point, but just do what all other mid earners do and put the extra into your pension to bring it under the 50k

Who on earth would break up their family for the sole purpose of a few hundred pounds a month? Ive had to survive off uc and it's soul-crushing. You get barely enough to survive, never mind thrive.

A lot of men just want sex, a lot of women want to be loved and have babies. A lot of women keep the babies conceived after a relatively short relationship. The man doesn’t want the baby . The woman keeps the baby . The man leaves.

Because women in this country are extremely capable. We don't necessarily need a second parent in the mix, particularly a poor excuse for one.

@Livelovebehappy what possible benefit would splitting up be for someone with children? You say that some give up too easy, why would anyone think that choosing to live alone, have less money, less time with your children, deal with the logistics of who's having the kids every Christmas/ birthday/ school holiday, not really being able to date, was in any way an easy option? No one chooses to bring children up as a divorced parent, it's tough! Having been raised as a child with no father in the picture, it is definitely tougher at times to negotiate with your ex over everything, every minor detail rather than to have complete control/ responsibility. Yes you get some childfree time but at what cost? At the cost of seeing less of your children!

Yep.

Oh really?
Tell me how that works then?
My kids' dad was free to work when he wanted, do what he wanted, oh and the woman he's hacked up with was very very wealthy. So he didn't have to earn much or pay much for his kids.
I never recovered financially.
You're nasty.

Well whatever the reason, I take my hat off to single mums.

..not forgetting single dads.

65% of relationships in the UK end because Mumsnet exists and every relationship post results in 89% of people saying 'Leave the bastard' 😂
These statistics may not be accurate

No you didn’t!

Single mums and dads dont bother me .
I was a single mum myself.
But what i dont get is when parents have children then moan that they cant cope or they're not getting enough child care from their parents or needing nannys.
Its like some have children but dont want to raise them.

This!

Not an option unfortunately. I can't afford to pay into my pension at the moment. I live in a small house but in an expensive area of the country. My mortgage is increasing by more than my pension contribution would be each month.