Being a Single Mum

Discussions about parenting often cast single mothers in a negative light. They are viewed as creating an environment that is not conducive to raising healthy, happy, well-adjusted children who go on to achieve well in life and contribute fully in society (Edin & Lein, 1997; Reekie, 1998). Their circumstances are pathologised, and they are understood in terms of a deficit model. In New Zealand this is very much the case for young single mothers (Pittaway, 2005) and Mäori or Pacific Island single mothers (Todd, 2008).