As LeBron James said: “For me, already being in a single parent household and knowing it was just me and my mom, sometimes you would wake up and hope that the next day you I could be by your mother's side because she was trying to make sure I took care of myself. But all I cared about was that she was home” (http://quotes.lifehack.org/quote/lebron-james/for-me-already-being-part-of-a/ ). This shows how single parenting takes up a lot of family time, from parents and their children. This problem is illustrated in The Color of Water by James McBride, as James and his siblings had to go through difficult times being raised by a single parent. Most children's lives are brutally compromised in single-parent homes due to restricted assets, the result of negative behaviors, and the breakdown of a two-parent family. A single parent is a parent who must raise one or more children without the help of a parent. of a partner or spouse. According to a recent study, more than twenty-five percent of children in the United States live with a single parent and these situations are the result of divorce, death of a parent, or adoption by a single parent ( “Single-parent families”). . Additionally, 82.2% of custodial parents are mothers and 17.8% of custodial parents are fathers (Wolf). Historically, single parenthood following divorce is something that has not happened as often as it does today in our societies today. After the fall of the Roman Empire in 476, getting divorced in Europe was a very difficult thing to do due to the strong inclusion of ministerial courts in family life, but with the help of written documents like the constitution, everyone the right to make any decision. that he or she thinks it's the best...... middle of paper ...... a friend's experience after her parents' divorce. She didn't know which side she should side with, which led to her experiencing peer pressure and getting kicked out of school for possessing weapons and illegal drugs. For children from single-parent families to be well-disciplined and mature, parents should be able to set aside time outside of their work schedule to devote to their family. Works Cited McBride, James. The color of the water. New York: Riverhead Books, 2006. PrintMyers-Walls, Judith A. and Nithyakala Karuppaswamy. “The effect of divorce on children: what makes the difference.” The effect of divorce on children: what makes the difference. NP, 2006. Web. April 20, 2014. “Single-parent families.” http://www.HealthyChildren.org. NP, 2004. Web. April 20, 2014.Wolf, Jennifer. “Single Parent Quotes.” BrainyQuote. Xplore and Web. April 20. 2014.