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We live in a world where parenting is beginning to receive more focus and has become one of the major topics on talk shows, in the press and on the airwaves. Normally, parenthood revolves around the child’s biological father and mother, but often with emphasis on the role of the father in most cultures. Single parenthood, therefore, refers to the situation where only one parent is saddled with the responsible of a child’s upbringing, be it the mother or father.

Single parenthood may occur for a variety of reasons. It could occur as a result of divorce, adoption, artificial insemination, surrogate motherhood, child neglect or abandonment by the absentee biological parent. There are also “natural circumstances” where either the father or mother may die, leaving the child or children with the other surviving parent. Cases abound especially in African society in which valuable property left behind by a dead father who should be given to his next of kin (wife and children) but the immediate family members hijack the property, compelling the mother to fend for herself and the children without any support.

Parenting is not by any means easy and it is important to know that one parent cannot fill the gap of both mother and father. Raising a child as a single parent can be challenging. In addition to taking care of home, the parent might be working or schooling, and it is important to balance all these aspects of life. Unfortunately, the general trend in Ghana today is that more parents continue to neglect their children, with fathers being the worst offenders.

Both boys and girls deserve equal attention but this is what many men in traditional Ghanaian society still haven’t come to terms with. The Children’s Act (56 0) of 1998 states among other things that a parent or any other person who is legally liable to maintain a child is under an obligation to supply the necessities of health, life, education and reasonable shelter for the child. When parents separate one party usually takes custody of the children.

In Ghanaian society in general following separation, a child ends up staying with the mother rather than the father. The relationship between children and non-custodial fathers can be difficult and strained. Fathers often become disinterested and detached from their children. In one study more than sixty percent of fathers either did not visit their children or had no contact with them for over a year. The absence of a father in the family can have far-reaching implications, the most critical of which is the absence of constant financial support from the man to the family.

In mother-only families, children tend to experience short -and long-term economic and psychological disadvantages; higher absentee rates which more boys are negatively affected than girls and more delinquent activity, including alcohol and drug addiction. Some children trained and brought up by single parents sometimes harbor hatred and pain for the absentee parent. Children in single mother homes are also more likely to experience health related problems as a result of the decline in their living standard, including lack of good nutrition and health insurance, among others.

In fact being a single parent has a lo t of difficulties. There is the need for both parents to train the child to enable that child to grow physically, spiritually, emotionally and become a responsible man or woman in the society.

The neglect/non-maintenance of children is the main cause of streetism, child prostitution, child trafficking, indiscipline, and other social vices in Ghanaian society. Children of single parents are more likely to be victims of physical and sexual abuse than children who live with both biological parents. According to a study conducted in the United States, children from a single parent background had a 77 per cent chance of being physically abused, 87 per cent risk of being harmed by neglect and overall 120 per cent risk of being endangered by some form of child abuse. Some of these children are sold out as labourers and house-helps, are over-worked and barely get enough food to eat.

It must be said, however, that single parenthood is not all doom and gloom but can be successful in cases where there is support from family, friends and neighbours, especially in times of need. Open communication channels, agreeable, supportive relationship with family and partners, having firm rules and standard for their children, have time to relax and have optimistic attitudes about themselves and the future. Mothers have an important role to play in promoting the involvement of the father in the life of the child. And it is equally important for parents not to involve children in disputes.

Whether together or separated, the father’s role in the child’s life is crucial. Discipline is the parent’s moral obligation and it is preferable in most cases to have the father around for it to be effective. Even when they have moved out of the home, the male partner needs to be encouraged to take part in sharing child-rearing responsibilities in the home; to spend time alone with the child or children each week to build a strong and unique bond and spend time in activities that make them keep the bond of communication healthy.