ABSTRACT

Currently, lone mothers and their children make up almost 20 per cent of families with dependent children in the UK, a threefold increase since 1970. Yet, while they are often cited by politicians as both a symptom and cause of social breakdown, relatively little is known of the causes, consequences and conditions of lone motherhood in Britain and throughout Europe.
Good Enough Mothering? provides accounts of historical patterns of mothering and ideologies of the family with cross-national comparisons of policies and experience of lone motherhood in developed and developing countries. Countries include: Britain, US, Norway, South Africa, Kenya, Thailand, India, Brazil and the Caribbean. This engaging edited collection will appeal to students of social policy, women's studies and social work.

chapter |17 pages

Mothers, Workers, Wives

Comparing Policy Approaches to Supporting Lone Mothers

chapter |18 pages

Debates on Disruption

What Happens to the Children of Lone Parents 1

chapter |16 pages

Social Constructions of Lone Motherhood

A Case of Competing Discourses

chapter |20 pages

Unpalatable Choices and Inadequate Families

Lone Mothers and the Underclass Debate