gle mothers, comprise the fastest growing category of family groups,
according to Danziger and Farber (1990). As a percentage of their racial group,
single motherhood is a particular issue for African Americans; 58 percent of all
black families with children are headed by single mothers, compared to 19
percent of whites. Less than 25 years ago, the percentage for black families was
only 15 percent.
CONSEQUENCES FOR MOTHER AND CHILD
For those who become
unwed mothers at a young age, there are immediate disadvantages that have
lifelong effects. Wilson (1986) says they are less likely to ever get married,
they have more children than the average, they are more likely to be poor, and
their formal education ends early.
Education. Having a baby means dropping out of school for 80 percent of teenage
mothers, and only 56 percent finally graduate from high school (Armstrong &
Waszak, 1992). Further, a teenage parent will make only one-half of the lifetime
earnings of a mother who waited until at least age 20 to have her first child.
Being a teenage mother also means living below the poverty line; in 1986, 81
percent of young mothers living alone had incomes below the Federal poverty
level. Even if married, their poverty rates were twice the national average.
Income. Early childbearing is more than a personal tragedy. The Center for
Population Options (Armstrong & Waszak, 1992) estimates that in 1990, the
annual cost of teenage motherhood (welfare, food stamps, Medicaid) was $25
billion. If the teenage births in that year had been delayed until the mother
was age 20, the savings in support services would have been 40 percent.
School Readiness. The children of low-income young mothers, more often than not,
are unprepared for formal schooling. The Educational Testing Service (1992)
contends that even after controlling for key socioeconomic differences between
one- and two-parent families, students living with both parents perform better
academically in school. Low-income families do not have the resources to create
literacy-rich home environments, and reading at home makes for better readers at
Similarly, the level of verbal interaction affects how well young children
develop thinking skills. Young mothers who dropped out of school, or have not
experienced a stimulating workplace, may lack the skills to use language
elaborately with their children. Sigel (1991) finds that when parents use
low-level or authoritative oral strategies with preschool children, the children
perform poorly on tasks requiring memory or problem-solving. A low-level
question would be: "What color is the shoe?" A high-level one would be: "Are
there other ways you might draw the house?"
DIFFERENT VIEWS OF YOUNG FAMILIES
Most of the research and
program efforts reflect these "deficit" perceptions of children from families in
poverty and attribute the inadequate preparation of young children for school to
economic status, racial/ethnic conditioning, single parenthood, or dysfunctional
There is, however, another view contending that none of the research so far
really describes the process by which parents prepare their children for school
and, further, that it perpetuates stereotypes of particular groups (Iglesias,
1992). Even the most poverty-stricken families or those with very poor literacy
skills have been good early teachers for their children (Clark, 1989). They set
aside time for learning, make opportunities for a lot of family discussion, and
go together with their children to outside resources, such as libraries. Clark
calls this "quality of family life style."
Similarly, Scott-Jones (1987) found that low-income, minority parents who
want to help their children with home learning in the early grades, and do so,
have varying skills. Such differences are one of the reasons why Iglesias (1992)
argues that parenting and parent involvement programs should be tailored to the
individual needs of each family instead of forcing every family to fit into a
single type of program. "It is essential," he says, "that we begin asking
families what they want, rather than 