Baker 1

Seaira Baker

Professor Malcolm Campbell

English 1103

02/16/2015

Topic Proposal: The Roll of a Parent

Introduction/Overview

I am interested in learning about what rolls each parent should have in a child’s life. I

have learned that, because of psychological reasons, the father and mother both have a different

effect on children and I am interested in learning more about that. Many children in America do

not have both parents in their lives every day, and I want to know how that can either help or

hurt a child both in the present and the future. This topic interests me because many people I

know as well as myself have grown up without a mother, a father, or even without both parents

to take care of them. I will be questioning what rolls parents should have in a child’s life.

It is hard to define the traditional family in this time, because every family is different.

There is not a known cause of this change, but an increased divorce rate from now compared to

ten years ago, is definitely a factor. Children who grow up with only one parent may be missing

out on a part of development. There are many studies identifying the importance of having both a

mom and a dad stating that each parent contributes to the growing process of children in a

different way.

I researched the different studies done to test how parental roles effect children. I mainly

did my research online and looked back into my psychology book from last semester as I

recalled learning about childhood development. I will use the library as my next resource and ask

Baker 2

a librarian for the best book options relating to my topic. Also my mom is a social worker with a

master’s degree and has many books and her own knowledge relating to my topic of interest.

There are different opinions when it comes to the rolls of parents. Single mothers want to

feel independent and single fathers want to feel competent. These feeling can cause single

parents to believe they can raise a child on their own, which they may be capable of doing, but

what I want to know is what these children are missing out on. Studies suggest that without a

father, girls can have a more difficult time trusting future partners (American Psychological

Association). This is an example of what the research is trying to prove, and it is hard for single

parents to accept the fact that their children might be missing out on a part of development. It is

easy to see that children usually get upset when their parents get a divorce, and I think most

parents can agree that they see their children effected by the divorce itself or even the emotional

side of only having one parent, but what researchers are looking for are the long term effects of

not having both a mother and a father raising their child. This is why the topic can be argued

because the results can lead parents to think that they are not properly raising their child or

children even though that is not the intention of researchers of this topic. The major groups of

people contributing to this study are psychologists, and people who are involved in parenting

studies. They most likely have these conversations through parenting journals or books.

Initial Inquiry Question(s)

What rolls should parents have in their children’s lives? What rolls should the father

have? What rolls should the mother have? Is there a correlation between having a single parent

and the chances that you will get divorced? Does not having one parent during childhood effect

development or future behavior?

Baker 3

My Interest in this Topic

I am interested in children with single parents, because I grew up without one parent for

the majority of my childhood. Also, many people I know don’t have any relationship with their

father. I want to know how this can affect people later in life, if it does at all. I know that each

parent tends to take on a roll when they are both in the same household, parenting together, and

from my research so far I know that many studies are being done to find anything that correlates

with children who have a single parent and to find its significance. I want to know how being

raised by a single parent can affect a child now and in the future. Children and childhood

development are interesting to me so I am taking one of my experienced and examining how it

may have had an effect on me, and children in the same or similar situation as me.

Next Steps

First, I am going to borrow a book from my mom. She has set aside the parenting books

she has for me to look through and chose the best one. I will then be going to the library to talk

to a librarian about more books relating to my topic. Also, I will look through the libraries

research page to find the more reliable and relevant research done on my topic. I am not sure

which journal I want to look at next, but I will make sure that it is credible, and that it has

answers to my questions. There is so much for me to learn about my topic, and I want to know

what the best researchers are doing to find any correlations and to answer the questions I have.