The Negative Effects of Single Parent

Homes on Children

Candidate Name: Shamone Martin

School: Pre-University School, Taylor Hall University of the West Indies Mona

Teacher: Mr. Grant

Territory: Jamaica

Candidate Number: 100422

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 Acknowledgement
The successful completion of this study would not have been possible without Jesus Christ who
gave me the ability, knowledge and strength to carry out this project. Secondly, I would like to
thank my teacher Mr. Grant who assisted me throughout the entire project.

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 Table of content

General Introduction……...…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4

Preface………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 5

Reflective Piece……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6-8

Language Analysis…………….…………………………………………………………………….……………………………. 9-10

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….… 11

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 12

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 General Introduction
This portfolio focuses on the topic “The Negative Effects of Single Parent Homes on Children”.
The researcher chose this topic because of wide spread negative impact single parent homes has
on our children in our society. Collins English Dictionary defines a single parent family as “a
family where a parent lives with dependent children, either alone or in a larger household,
without a spouse or partner”. Many single parent households do not have stable family structure
and support system to cater to the financial, emotional and psychological needs of some children,
consequently the children become socially handicapped, anti-social and demotivated. The single
parent family structure in Jamaica is mostly headed by a mother, the fathers are either unknown
or absentee.

This portfolio is inclusive of an original narrative piece entitled “Broken Family”, a preface
which discusses the reason for writing the story, along with an overview. The target audience is
also acknowledged making mention of where it will be displayed. A 10-minute expository
presentation was done on the theme and an analysis of the narrative piece is also included. This
completes how the topic will be represented.

The researcher`s academic, personal and professional interests are related and relevant to the
topic. Academically, this topic relates to the researcher`s current studies in sociology, as it allows
her to get a deeper understanding of the underlying issues and negative impacts of single parent
families. Personally, the topic relates to me because my personal experience with being raised by
a single mother with the assistance of a close-knit family. Professionally, my interest in the topic
is related to my aspirations to become a social worker and psychologist to work closely with
children. This topic broadens my view of the experiences of different children and gives me a
greater understanding of the issues they face.

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 Preface
The story entitled “Broken Family” is written in narrative form. The story is centered on the
main character Emma Heart who got married at an early age. “Broken Family” outlines the
challenges Emma faced after she lost her first child in labour. The story reaches its climax when
Emma’s husband was unable to cope with the tragedy. However, after years of struggling Emma
was able to stand on her own two feet.

This is a situation that has been faced by many youths and by writing this story my aim is to
inform the audience of the effects that single parent homes have on a child’s life. My piece is
intended to target youths between the ages of 16-19 in their final year of secondary education as
they make the transition from adolescent to adulthood. I hope to impact the audience in showing
them the hardships encountered in the situation and the importance of averting it. Awareness of
this situation will influence youth to be more responsible in their relationships and have greater
consideration for the possibilities of impacting their future as well as that of others.

The piece will be presented through the use of a combination internet related channels, such as
blogging, as the youth of today receive most of their information online. The piece will provide a
verbal as well as non-verbal message, using both visual and audio-visual clips. I designed the
story to be informative and encouraging while still maintaining a high standard of entertainment.

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 Broken Family
Paragraph 1

Emma Heart got married when she was just eighteen years old, a man nine year her
senior. Shortly after they began their married life together she found out that she was
expecting their first child.

“Jerry, there’s a bun in the oven,” she said with great enthusiasm.

“Honey are you sure”, he asked as he laughed.

“Yes, Yes, I’m positive, super positive” Emma said.

Paragraph 2

After seven months of excited expectation and preparation, she received the earth-
shattering news: her baby, the child she had prayed for and carried was no longer alive.
Emma and her husband reacted very incompatible to the miscarriage and that was, so to
say, the beginning of the end.

“Oh Lawd, Lawd, Lawd, Lawd” Emma cried slowly with a rhythm.

“This was supposed to be my happy moment, wa mek a me dis affi appen to?” she said
with a voice full of depression.

“Tek it easy mi darlz, things will get better” Jerry said as he slowly stroked her hair.

Paragraph 3

Four years after the incident, Emma and her husband were given a beautiful healthy baby girl,
followed eighteen months later by another.

“You’re all I ever need, baby you’re amazing” she joyfully sang to her children.

Although this couple was blessed with lively healthy children, their marriage was by now
definitely on the rocks. It was established that her husband wasn’t fund of kids. Emma was doing
everything she could, for her children sake to hold her family together.

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Paragraph 4

Two years later she found out that she was expecting again, a child her husband never
wanted.

“Lord, have mercy on me lord, I’m down on my knees as I pray Lord, give me strength,
give me strength” she uttered with mixed feelings.

Emma held on, determined to accept this child as the gift that it was. She was given a
handsome bouncing baby boy. Unfortunately, some months after her son was born, her
marriage was broken beyond repair. Her husband left and they divorced.

Paragraph 5

Within a year he remarried and three years later he disappeared from their lives
completely. Abandoned with no support or financial aid, she made attempts to locate her
ex-husband hoping that he would want to be a part of his children lives. Unfortunately,
these enquire led to yet another tragedy when she was finally told by authorities that her
children father had passed away in a motor vehicle accident. Emma now was not only
left to raise her children alone, but she had to find a way to help and guide her three
young children (by now ten, six and four respectively), through the grief and pain of their
father’s death, as well as dealing with her own grief.

“If your father had just stick by me, his life on earth would be useful”, she fiercely
uttered to her children.

“Da single parent life ya hard bad, but I will do all I can to be a good role model and to
be both a mother and a father just for you guys” she said as the tears raced down her
cheeks.

Paragraph 6

With no qualifications to her name and no family nearby to help her practically, she had a
hard time finding and holding a job. After months of applying, she eventually got a job
but still had no one to look after her children while she was working.

Emma relied heavily on relatives and charity to keep everything going. Often, she had to
humble herself to ask for help and sometimes depriving herself to make sure there was

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enough for her children. For instance, when she was offered Saturdays off from work and
refused because she insisted on getting the extra cash so that her kids might have an extra
meal, if so.

“All di responsibility dem dh pon me one nung” she said.’’

Paragraph 7

By this time, I had earned enough funds to keep my family going and I would often see
the excitement on their faces when they achieved a goal such as riding a bicycle without
training wheels or even learning to read’.

Her children are all in their twenties now and have gone their separate ways. They will
remember her love and the self-sacrifice she endured for them. I know, because this is my
mother’s story. I am her third and youngest child.

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 Language Analysis
The Narrative piece “Broken Family” recounts the challenging experiences of a young adult who
got married at an early age but was too focused on being married rather than staying married.
The author utilized several mixtures of the elements of communication. Two elements will be
examined, specifically: Dialect Variation and Language Registers.

Dialect variation refers to the changes in language due to various influences. Language including
a creole language spoken by a particular geographic, social or cultural sub-group. There are
different variations of dialect represented within the piece. Acrolect (which is straight standard
English) represented clearly when Emma was showing appreciation to her baby girl saying
“You’re all I ever need, baby you’re amazing”, this was to convey the message more
convincingly. The writer used mostly Acrolect in this piece to show that the main character
official language is English. Next in dialect comes the Mesolect (which is a combination of
standard English and creole), arouse in the 2nd paragraph of the piece where Emma reacted to her
miscarriage saying “This was supposed to be my happy moment, wa mek a me dis affi appen
to?”. The use of code switch was to emphasise on her disappointment. Basilect (which is
complete Patois/Creole) a perfect example coming from Emma in the 6th paragraph of the piece
when she said “All di responsibility dem dh pon me one nung. The change of variation in the
different situation was to facilitate their conversation while conversing with each other and to
express her distress to the situation on a whole.

Language Registers refers to the perceived attitude and level of formality associated with a
variety of language. The five level of identified language registers include: Frozen, Formal,
Consultative, Casual/Informal and Intimate Registers. Two registers found within the
reflective piece are: Intimate register and Frozen register. In paragraph 2, Intimate register is
being used because the conversation was between husband and wife. The conservation was
private between the couple when Jerry was conversing with his wife, for example when he said
“Tek it easy mi darlz” using a slang for the word ‘darling’ and effectively representing the
Intimate register. In the 4th paragraph when Emma uttered “Lord, have mercy on me lord, I’m
down on my knees as I pray Lord, give me strength, give me strength”, is an example of a

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Frozen register, it was used due to the fact that Emma was uttering to her Lord and it did not
require any feedback which showed relatively static language.

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 Conclusion

In conclusion, I strongly believe that children should allow themselves to properly mature and
think long-term when taking a specific task into consideration. I sincerely hope that the
information contained in this portfolio will be of help to adolescent to impact them in such a way
that they will be more responsible in their relationships.

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 Bibliography
Websites
Collins English Dictionary.com

Book
Communication Studies for CAPE Examination…… Veronica Simons, Sandra Osborne

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