Susan had divorced her husband a year back on grounds of ?Irreconcilable difference? and won the custody of Cathy, her 5-year-old daughter. However, she was finding it difficult to meet her expenses and felt sad about not being able to afford a luxurious living for her daughter. Susan was unable to answer Cathy's questions about her father. She realised that it would have been easier if she had worked out the differences with her husband instead of opting for a divorce, in the best interests of the child.

Family is the best place for a child to grow. Being brought up by a single parent can have adverse effects on the child. Bringing up the child alone could be an ordeal that you might not have contemplated. Here are a few of the undesirable things that show why it is easier and better to reconcile the difference with spouse rather than being a single parent.

1.A child is entitled to receive the love and care of both the parents. It would not be fair to deprive your child of it.

2.On divorce or separation, if one of the parents moves away to a different part of the country, it would become difficult to be in regular contact with the child. Not only would your child miss you, but you would be missing out on all beautiful moments watching your child grow up too.

3.You would have to make your child understand the reasons for being a single parent. Although your child might be able to understand things better when he or she becomes an adult, at this stage, you would be faced with a lot of questions such as why the other parent had to leave, why they cannot live with the other parent, etc. for which you might not have an answer.

4.Even if you receive child support from your spouse, you might still find it difficult to afford all the luxuries for your child with your single salary.

5.When your child has a problem, you could get genuine support and care for your child only from the other parent.

6.You might not find anyone to share your moments of joy pertaining to your child with anyone else, thus making you feel lonely.

7.Being a single parent, it becomes difficult to control your child. Since you are the only parent, you might end up being a strict disciplinarian or an extremely lenient parent. Being on these extremes might not be good for the upbringing of your child.

Although there are exceptions, researches reveal that most of the children from the single parenting households suffer from physical and psychological problems. A recent study in Canada revealed that a majority of the people involved in criminal activities came from single parenting background. The children from single-parent households might resort to drinking, smoking, taking dopes and, sometimes, even run away from their home. They are likely to lose their faith in marriage and some of them get pregnant at an early age. It could affect them emotionally and might make them shy. As a result, they might find it difficult to communicate to anyone including you. Their interests in academics decline and they also end up having a lot of health-related issues. However, there are cases where the child from single parenting household leads a normal life. It is just that the probability of these problems is higher in the single parenting household.

Considering all these problems, do you really want to jeopardise your child's future? As children, they are completely dependant on you and it becomes your responsibility to ensure they have a normal and happy childhood. Probably, a little amount of compromise and negotiation could set things right with your spouse. Is it not easy to take a little effort to rectify things instead of going to the extreme steps of divorce and separation that could be painful for the entire family?