It is said that single parents are the parents who choose to stay. But many times children raised by one parent experience various forms of abuse including psychological, physical, and sometimes sexual abuse, growing up to become toxic single parents themselves.
Over the years, the rate of single parents especially mothers has risen globally. According to the 2014 study by Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), at least 14 percent of children between 0-14 years are raised by single mums worldwide.
Due to the burden of having to raise children alone, sometimes many single mothers develop toxic traits that they transfer to their children.
Under this topic of discussion on The Fatboy Show, a participant named Pius argued that sometimes the behaviours of single mothers negatively impact their children and their relationships as adults.
“When a kid doesn’t get a balance in life, in the end, what goes around comes around. So if a girl grows up in a toxic environment, there are higher chances that this child will become a toxic mother.”
But also Olive Najjuma, the presenter of the show argued that men raised in single-parent homes can be irresponsible partners who leave the weight of looking after the home to their wives because they witnessed their mothers doing so.
James Onen, aka Fatboy, said some people may attribute the toxicity of single mothers on their baby daddies.
However, Olive disagreed saying a person cannot blame others for their toxic behaviors. “If you are bitter because a man left you with the responsibility of looking after the children, it’s between you and him. Why are you making children suffer because of their father’s decisions? It was you who chose him, besides children don’t choose their parents,” she said.
According to Olive, single parents (mums) should openly explain to their children why a father figure is missing in their lives and give them a chance to draw their own opinions rather than maligning the missing parental figure.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive, and Sarah every weekday from 6 am to 10 am on RX Radio.
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