This poses a problem in which single parents must work in order to provide nourishment for their children. As a result they sacrifice the ability to create healthy parent-children bonds. This dilemma leaves the children as mal-adjusted adults who are highly more susceptible to levels of high distress, low-self esteem, low acceptance views, and high general unhappiness. Playing the role of both mother and father can be very exhausting. The fact that most people do not enter a relationship with the idea that eventually they will split up adds an air of unpredictability and makes the task more daunting. Children that are raised in a house with a single parent after a divorce have a relationship twice that of their fellow peers" who have both parents to have problems in school, be disruptive, and exhibit depressive symptoms. In addition to this single parent children have lower views of self worth and are less mindful and tactful in social situations. Typically in a nuclear family there is clear distinction between both parents in reference to the roles of the disciplinarian and the confidant. When there is one single parent he or she may feel the pressure of carrying both responsibilities. According to Cole and Cole, "They have no one to support them when the children question their authority and no one to act as a buffer between them and their children when they are not functioning well as a parent." The children see that the lines between the two sides are blurred and unclear, and this causes them to distrust and become detached from their parent. .
An informative book on the subject of single parenting is "Operating Instructions" by Anne Lamott. The book is a cumulative journal from Sam's (her son) birth to a year. "Operating Instructions" is descriptive in portraying the excitement, joy, trials, and tribulations of a woman bringing up a son alone. Throughout the book Lamott constantly alludes to the desire that she would have a husband to help in raising her son, Sam.
