BY POPOOLA BOLUWATIFE TAOFIQAH
Do children of unmarried mothers face greater life challenges? Yes they Do, and I am a victim. As a kid I struggled quite a lot being raised by a single mother, my mom sold newspapers and magazines by the roadside at Ilupeju in Lagos. Kids in my class always made fun of me because in general I had the lowest self-confidence. I grew up experiencing emotional struggles.
Today, one third of all Nigerian babies are born by unmarried mothers —a startling statistic that has prompted national concern about the consequences for women, children, and society.
Non marital fertility refers to a baby conceived by parents who aren’t married. Of the world’s 140 million births that happened in 2016, about 15 percent (21 million) were born out of wedlock. This global average, however, does not consider the collosal variation in the proportion of births outside of marriage across countries and regions.
While many single mothers work wonders and raise their children well despite the obstacles they encounter, for many others the challenge is too great and their children suffer the consequences.
Infants born by younger women are more likely to be born prematurely, and to die in the neonatal period.
The absence of married parents sometimes leads to delayed development in early childhood.
Many of these children have problems in controlling their activity popularly called “hyperactivity”.
This lack of control is usually an indication of problems in learning that will arise later in the child’s development.
The absence of married parents is related to poor academic performance of the child in school.
The longer the time spent as a single parent, the less education income attained. This significantly reduces the job and income attainments of these individuals and also affects the overall performance of the nation’s economy.
The absence of married parents risks emotional and behavioral problems that compound during childhood.
Children from “blended” families (families with step siblings) tend to have even more difficulties. They disrupt established loyalties, create new uncertainties, provoke deep anxieties, and sometimes threaten a child’s physical as well as emotional security.
A former director of the United Nations Population Division, Joseph Chamie states that, Various groups and organizations, including religious institutions, have expressed serious concerns and a request for restrictive policies to the increasing incidence and acceptance of non-marital fertility.
They consider the separation of sexual relations and reproduction from marriage as a major obstacle sabotaging the institution of marriage, the paramountcy of family for childrearing and wellbeing of society.
Additionally, parents’ marital status at the time of a child’s birth is a “good predictor of longer-term family stability and complexity, both of which influence children’s longer-term wellbeing.”
To sum, children that are results of premarital or non marital fertility should not be treated with any less kindness, instead, they should be embraced and loved. The government should also reach out to single parents and provide support to them.