How Does The Absence Of A Parent Affect The Child?
In this article we explain how the absence of a parent affects the child.
Children benefit from a healthy relationship with both parents. However, certain circumstances sometimes make this impossible.
A death, divorce, or other unpleasant event can cause a child to grow up without either parent.
It is important to know how to deal with the long-term emotional effects that the loss of a parent can have on the child.
How does the absence of a parent affect the child?
Parents are a source of comfort and warmth for children. The absence of one parent, or in the worst case both parents, can lead to a lack of this attention in adolescence.
When the mother or father is absent at home , children can suffer and feel like they are not getting enough support.
In order to hide this vulnerability and perhaps counter it in this way, some young people can develop aggression towards others so that they do not end up being victims themselves.
However, not all children suffer equally from the consequences of the absence of a parent.
Problems related to the absence of a parent
The absence of a parent can be difficult for children. This can cause the following problems:
1. Problem relationships
When a child or teenager loses one or both parents, it can indirectly affect their relationships with others. Problematic relationships follow from this.
The young adult may develop a false self-image and become very reluctant to avoid further loss.
2. Cognitive Effects
Single parent children may have more problems with cognitive development. One reason for this may be that the mother or father has less time to attend to the child’s schooling.
The help of family or friends is therefore very important.
3. Aggression
A teenager who lacks a parent may be forced to deal with rejection, which in turn can develop into aggression.
A child usually learns how to properly handle emotions at an early age. If one parent is absent, this process can be disrupted.
During puberty, the child is then unable to respond appropriately to aggression because it has never learned how to deal with it.
4. Fears
The child may be prone to anxiety. Because a child without parents often does not experience the love necessary to develop emotionally.
In addition to hyperactivity, fears are a problem caused by the lack of a maternal or paternal caregiver. In teenagers, this can also affect school performance.
5. School performance
A healthy family has a positive impact on a child’s academic performance.
Parents encourage their children to make an effort in school, while teenagers make an effort to make their parents proud of them.
With absent parents, adolescents lose their motivational factor and then worry very little about their school grades.
6. Drugs and alcohol abuse
Teenagers without parents are much more susceptible to drugs or alcohol even before they are of legal age.
When there is a lack of control and there are no limits, they become responsible for their own freedom and do not always make the right decisions.
In fact, one study has shown that missing parents increases the risk of alcohol and drug use before the age of majority.
Finally, keep in mind that the absence of a parent has a greater impact on young children. However, not all children are the same, each reacts differently to this situation.
It is important to give the child attention and affection, to be there for them and to take their worries seriously.
