Today, when we think of family, no single image comes to mind. Nowadays, the typical family structure includes blended families, single parent families and same-sex parent families.
With this in mind, we have asked parent bloggers to share their experiences raising families in today’s world.
Chloe, from parenting blog Just The Three Of Us, has kindly shared her experiences as a young, single mum.
Q: How did the family construct in which you now live evolve?
A: I gave birth to my daughter when I was 18 and later married and had a second child when I was 21. The marriage sadly ended and now it’s just us three against the world.
Q: How do people in your environment respond to your family? Have you ever felt discriminated against as a family? If so, how did you handle the situation?
A: In recent years, I haven’t faced criticism or discrimination, however, when I had my daughter I was a young mum and I felt a huge level of judgment towards both myself and my daughter because of my age. It didn’t help that I looked younger than I was.
Q: On a scale of 0 to 10: How much do you feel your family model is accepted by society? (0 = not accepted at all, 10 = fully accepted)
A: I’d say around 7. Single parents aren’t rare any more, but there will always be a cloud of judgment around being a solo parent.
As every family is unique, we want to hear from parent bloggers with different structures and experiences. If you are a parent blogger and would like to take part in the We Are Family series, please get in touch with sophie.moran(at)care.com. Hashtags: #wearefamily #familyforeveryone #familyfirst
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