The effects of single parenting on raising teenagers: a case study of the Hasani Dakari village Vhembe district in Limpopo province, South Africa

Abstract

The study focused on the effects of single parenting on teenagers’ development with a bias on the challenges faced by single parents in upbringing their teenagers in the Hasani Dakari village, Vhembe district in Limpopo province of South Africa.Literature reveals that single parent household families have become a common phenomenon in the world, inclusive of South Africa. The spotlight was on how parents cope with the burden of raising teenagers on their own who are normally defiant and wayward in terms of behaviour. A qualitative approach was used in executing this study and the population comprised of single parents with teenage children in the Hasani Dakari village, Vhembe district in Limpopo province of South Africa. A sample of five (5) single mothers and five (5) single fathers were purposively sampled to participate in the study. Data were collected through one-on-one interviews and were (data) qualitatively analysed and narratively presented. The study found that many single parents are failing to adequately fend for their teenagers due to lack of healthy financial resources, have un- healthy relationships with their teenagers who are delinquents and poorly perform at school. It was further found out that many teenagers from single parents are into substance abuse hence many parents are stressed and depressed due to the unfavourable behaviour of their teenagers. The study recommends that parents seek counselling services from professional counselors and that the government should double the child support grants for children from single parents.

Keywords: single parenting, teenagers, financial difficulties, educational difficulties, unmarried