clegg's comments about single parents being less effective

[Merl0t]

just read this

less effective in what way? this isn't based on any study is it?

It's an all over the place article.
On the one hand its talks about two parents sharing the care of the children and the housework (which sounds like they live together) being a good thing which of course it is... and then just make a massive statement that lone parents are less effective which is just daft....
Lots of variables to consider.... just trying to get himself some publicity - it's not Clegg its some former adviser... and I think the clue as to how good he is, is the word former!

Load of old rubbish! I know for a fact that I'm a much more "effective" parent, because I'm so much happier! I actually laugh with my children now, I was completely depressed before. Like anything, how "efffective" you are (as a parent or anything else) depends on any number of things, not just whether or not you are part of a couple.

Nick Clegg didn't make the comments. At least get that bit right.

As for the article - its in the telegraph, it's guff.

As for the article - its in the telegraph, it's guff.

Actually I googled it to see if I could get any more info, and there were pages and pages of the headline - it looks as though it was in every local/ national paper in Britain! The odd one or two I looked at looked identical too. No-one seemed to be questioning the comments. Very odd!

Women can't raise children properly without men around to help and tell them how to do it properly?

Do the libdems actually want any votes at the next election?

And just for the record, as a lone parent, I am actually not struggling with a 'poorly raised' next generation criminal. Up yer chelsea bun, The Telegraph.

f**k off
I get nothing from welfare

the usual 'single mothers are awful' crap only hidden - a bit, not much.

It's not even what the research says (just reading the massive report this week).

Poverty and deprivation make for poor outcomes for children and lone parents are over represented in those sectors. Usually for reasons beyond them such as being lumped together in social housing or not having suitable childcare to work. It's not being a lone parent as such but that the odds are weighted against you.

It's not Nick Clegg - it's an advisor. Saying that lone parents "by definition" are more likely to be on welfare is rubbish - they might be more likely statistically but it's not the definition of being a lone parent to be on welfare

It's also not straightforward to say research shows children from lone parent families do less well - they do on average but that's because poorer people are more likely to end up as lone parents in the first place. And comparing the outcomes to that of children from happily married/cohabiting parents is not a fair comparison because, as we all know, the decision lone parents (or their exes) have made is choosing lone parenting over the alternative of a really unhappy relationship.

Unfortunately there's not statistical dataset that can identify all the children in unhappy homes with two parents rowing to see if they do better than those with lone parents. I doubt it.

My son is a happy, healthy, bright, thoughtful and strong willed little boy. And - shocker - I've done that by myself.

The suggestion that fathers, whether present or absent, should contribute more is fair enough. But it's just a slight disguise to hide behind in digging at single mothers. Because we will all produce ''poorly-raised children''. Obviously.

whatever you are spot on
It is the same line used in courts by F4J to force children to have toxic relationships with parents that use the courts to get at the RP or to get the RP to stop asking for maintenance.
It is much easier to blame the lone parent that address the real issues AGAIN.
A read a really interesting report that actually say what whatever has said and more.. they did look at `intact' relationships as well and also at the outcomes of children who had a parent die. Ill dash off and try and post the link.

I wouldn't vote lib dem anyway.
There's a stat somewhere that says lone mothers spend a much larger proportion of their income on their dc than married women do. Randomly I think it's in the politics of bf. but however...just for you Cleggy, I was raised by a lp and I've got two degrees (sticks fingers in ears and blows raspberry).

www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/DCSF-RR113.pdf sorry

Oh cheers for that better. Interesting report

I'm doing an essay this week and that'll be dead helpful.

The bottom line, which is never highlighted, is that the stats confirm more children in non lone parent households are 'likely' to 'suffer' the poor outcomes always attributed to lone parent offspring, when the other indicators are used. Lone parents might well be more likely to be in poverty, but there are many complex reasons for the poor outcomes lone parent offspring are written off with. The actual numbers are greater in non lone parent households because the numbers are greater to start with e.g. 15% of 5000 is less than 10% of 50000, but that's never spelled out. It's not a straight forward correlation, yet the press continually represent the research used in completely skewed agenda-filled articles.

If we're so crap then they'll change their mind about taking CSA and tax credit money off us won't they because that'll make our lives harder.......oh.

I keep meaning to join the labour party.

And our future king William is the product of a broken family lone parent etc etc. funny how they never trot him out as an example ...not even in the daily telegraph....

There are so many more factors than "lone parent" .

Obama and Clinton too, we all know how those tearaways from broken homes turned out.

well said you all....

PurpleRoses- very well said.I Wonder what would happen if they looked at the
longterm effects on children who come from a unhappy co-habiting parents hom?.I grew up in a unhappy (2 parent) household & was also until fairly recently in a very unhappy relationship which i decided to take dc & myself out of.It was in my opinion the right thing to do for my dc.

Sorry i meant "home" not "hom".