BBC news using the phrase "broken home"

[IsitaHatOrACat]

Really? Really? Whilst I'm not overly interested to know about this man's drug fuelled years, the description of him coming from a "broken home" has infuriated me.
As a single parent to a 15 year old, I can confirm that there us nothing whatsoever "broken" about our home or small family.
I really thought we had moved on from this type of shaming of single parent families
Seriously BBC, do better.

BBC News - Heavy hangs the crown - sadness at Wiggins' troubles
www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/articles/c23mv42m2lmo

In my case ,as a child, witness to lots of DV ,and then horrendous fighting and divorce, followed by a tug of war with me in the middle for 15 years ..most definitely yes I came from a broken home .
It damaged me beyond repair..they damaged me beyond repair..what else would you call my situation as a child..I certainly wasn't happy..my home was shattered in to a million pieces as was my heart .
I'm glad your home for your child is not the same .

My kids would've come from a 'broken home" if I'd have stayed with their dad, as they would've witnessed him being abusive to me.
As it is, I left him and bought them both up on my own when only toddlers and babies, and they've grown into amazing adults. Both are loving, caring and are a real credit to me,
They've both done extremely well with degrees and good jobs, and are law abiding citizens, one being a special constable too.

I hate the stigma surrounding single parents (usually Mums), especially when I see so many youngsters getting into trouble and/or taking drugs when they come from a home with both parents raising them.

But it probably is a perfectly accurate description for the article. This report is on a particular person not an opinion piece on single parent households.

Journalists aren’t going to stop, or shouldn’t, stop using applicable language because it winds someone up or they take personal offence over something out of context.

There's no need to mention him being from a broken home, what relevance does it have on him being an addict?
According to the report, Bradley Wiggins became an addict after his marriage collapsed, yet it implies that because his parents were separated, this was the reason he was bought up in poverty and ended up using cocaine,

But broken home refers to divorced parents, not a home where abuse occurs. I'm genuinely surprised at some of the responses on here.

My take is that this kind of language prevents people in abusive relationships separating due to societal responses and stigma perpetuated by the media (and some politicians but that's another thread...)

Journalists should absolutely stop using language which causes offence. One example being how reports on men who murder their ex-spouses/spouses no longer include positive character references such as being a "family-man" following a campaign (which I can't remember the name of)

Is it possible that the term ‘Broken home’ could be an accurate description of Bradley Wiggins childhood, whilst being a wholly inappropriate way of describing your own family set up?

I’m not entirely convinced the writer was looking to take a swipe at you when they wrote about Bradley Wiggins, but I could be wrong.

That's an abusive home. That's not what the phrase 'broken home' means. That's an incredibly old fashioned and judgemental term referring to separated parents.

Absolutely!
Clearly whatever happens to my child in future will be down to his "broken home"

How is it an accurate description? It doesn't describe anything clearly at all. Do they mean divorced parents? Or actual abuse? This is poor use of language.

The article offers no further details other than describing his "broken home" which can only reasonably be considered to refer to separated/divorced parents

My take on it is that you come from a broken home when your parents get a divorce. So a single parent who always been single is not defined as a broken home. My parents got divorced when I was 11 and yes, I felt as though my home was broken and as if I was broken. I worried constantly about my dad comitting suicide. It was a nasty divorce and it left indelible scars.

In my case there was no dv involved though. I think that if there is dv/abuse the home is already broken whether the the parents stay together or not.

It's a swipe at all single parents. Not just me! This kind if stigma prevent parents ending abusive relationships. See also "failed marriage"

But the journalists don’t write the headlines.
Somebody else does that - and they write them to grab our attention.
My apologies - I can’t remember what the headline writers are called. lol probably “headline writers.”

How is "broken home" applicable language??! It's not. How can a home or family be "broken". It's highly loaded phrase perpetuating stigma.

But statistically being brought up in a,single parent house hold is a huge risk factor for all sorts of things. The evidence is in to try to argue otherwise is disingenuous.

Growing up ,that's how my family was described as a broken home .

And that's fine to discuss (though the effect if abuse in the home prior to and following parental separation needs considering also)

This can all be discussed using respectful and correctly descriptive language. Single parent family does not equal "broken home"

So it doesn't specifically say anything either way yet you have deliberately interpreted in a way to get upset about so maybe you have more issues with your own situation?

Do you think it's an ok expression to use? Do you think divorce automatically means a family is broken? Are you projecting because your childhood was difficult?

People are not striving to be single parents
Surely everyone wants what is best for their child,which is two parents who love them .
If that is not possible,and children are growing up in single parent households ,that's not seen as the best for a child ..lots of researching has been done on the negative outcomes of no father involved families.
So that's probably why the term broken home is used ,stems from two loving parents being what a child needs to thrive .
It's certainly what I needed to thrive and didn't receive

Statistically being brought up in a domestically abusive home is also a huge risk for all sorts of things. The risks associated with single parents are also complex and cannot be attributed just to the fact of having one parent - that's as overly simplistic as saying 'growing up in care leads to poorer outcomes' without taking into consideration the reasons that children grow up in care in the first place. What happens BEFORE the separation is more impactful than what happens afterwards. Stigmatising single parent homes by calling them broken actively discourages parents to leave relationships that are actually harming children.

@Neurodiversitydoctor But statistically being brought up in a,single parent house hold is a huge risk factor for all sorts of things. The evidence is in to try to argue otherwise is disingenuous.

That's not quite right though. Poverty is at the root of pretty much all of the 'sorts of things,' that being from a single parent household puts you at risk of. Poverty is often a factor in the relationships ending as well. But it's much easier to blame single parents that trying to tackle the inequality and poverty that is really causing the harm.

'Broken home,' is a lazy, inaccurate all-round shitty phrase and, yes, the BBC should do better.

I don't understand your point. Your family might have been described as a broken home but that's not because it was abusive, it's because your parents split up. Which was probably for the best, and the opposite of 'breaking' your home.

No one is blaming single parents,they are the ones showing up for that child each day .
The blame lies at the feet of the fathers who walk away or are useless or don't step up .

I wonder if it is actually a direct quote of something Wiggins said himself?