wfn.org | Study finds single moms who study have better relationships with their kids

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>3038 Edition

>May 17~23, 2010

Study finds single moms who study have better relationships with  their kids

>Reported by Chiou Kuo-rong

>Written by Lydia Ma

We all know that single moms are burning the candle at both ends  trying to 
juggle

being both mother and father to their children while holding down  jobs. Under 
such

challenging circumstances, should single moms even consider  getting another

>degree?

According to Taiwan’s Woman Development Association (an  organization under PCT

Social Welfare Coordinating Committee), among single moms pursuing  further

studies, 78.6% agreed getting more education was necessary if they  were to 
find a

better job and improve their family’s financial situation.  This conviction 
motivated them

>to make time and study no matter what.

In a survey administered by National Defense University in  conjunction with 
Taiwan’s

Woman Development Association about single moms currently pursuing  a degree,

respondents listed the following reasons, in decreasing order, for  wanting more

education: Learn new vocational skills, remain competitive in the  job market, 
boost

interpersonal relationships, improve job performance, become more  independent 
and

self-sufficient, increase income, avoid poverty, and win a job  promotion.

In the survey, 78.6% of single moms wrote they were convinced  further studies 
and an

academic degree would help them achieve these goals.

However, family experts worried whether there would be any fallout  if all 
single mothers

decided to get another degree. They wondered if further studies  would strain

relationships between single moms and their children because  mothers would be

>even more stressed.

Surprisingly, research findings revealed otherwise – not only  did another 
degree equip

single moms vocationally; it also had positive effects on  relationships 
between single

>moms and their children.

Single moms wrote that they often searched for a quiet place to  study and their

children would also study alongside them. They discovered doing  homework 
together

with their children was one way of increasing their day-to-day  interaction 
with one

another and significantly improved mother-child relationships.

Some single moms wrote that their children were inspired to study  more 
diligently

when they saw their own mother’s efforts in preparing for  mid-term or final 
exams. This

phenomenon was an unexpected bonus for single moms on top of  closer and more

>harmonious relationships with their children.

Seeing the benefits of higher education on single mothers,  Taiwan’s Woman

Development Association is encouraging single moms to work and  study at the 
same

>time to boost their professional skills.

Well aware that the first concern single moms will have is how to  afford 
tuition fees, the

association began a project 3 years ago that has offered student  bursaries to 
more

than 400 single moms. More than 50 moms have also received  child-care subsidies

>while they were studying.

The association has supported more than 700 single moms in the  past 3 years to

realize their dreams of pursuing higher education, obtaining a  degree, and 
changing

>their financial circumstances.

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