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

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.

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 Broken home seems an outdated term.

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 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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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!!!"

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.

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 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.

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

Agree op. And I don’t have any direct experience myself of “broken” homes, so I am not being defensive.
But it is unnecessary phrase to use. They should say his parents had separated. Or that he was brought up in a single parent household. There is no need to say “broken”

why not a shit mother? why is it always assumed the father is the bad one?

Completely agree, op, I loathe the judgemental one size fits all phrase.

How about dysfunctional family, that is what I call mine and my two parents are still very much together. They would be equally appalled as you OP are at the negative connotation but I very much did come from a dysfunctional family as did my DH where his parents were still together until 2-3 years ago.

I agree so much OP. It is a hideous, outdated phrase. There is nothing broken whatsoever in the happy home I share with my children and the happy relationship they share with their dad.

Op I think it’s the negativity that surrounds the term, it’s supremely unhelpful. Most schools now teach families look all different and are unique. It seems we are still living with the hangover of the insistence that only whole families exist with two parents, as if it’s a form of utopia. It’s very odd. Children should be taught that all families are ‘whole’ regardless of set up.

If your experience is one of a ‘broken home’ which can be with parents together or not, that indicates poor parenting or an ACE of some kind, rather than the organisation and structure of the family itself.

I agree. There is nothing about my home that’s broken - except the washing machine which is being fixed today!

Because it IS statistically far more likely to be a father, that’s why. Facts are facts.

There are a great many families that appear to be ‘intact’ from the outside that could very accurately be described as broken. No divorce needed.

Indeed for some of them divorce would be an improvement,

And Wiggins father was a violent alcoholic so he was most def a shit father, and no doubt was responsible for Wiggin’s description of a ‘broken’ home life.