Single Parents Day takes place this weekend, with Scots urged to show their support online
A charity is calling for a mass celebration of single parents on social media for Single Parents Day this Saturday (21 March).
Together with Gingerbread in England and Wales, One Family in Ireland and Parenting Northern Ireland, One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS) will be using the hashtags #CelebrateSingleParents, #ProudSingleParents and #SingleParentsDay to encourage parents and their friends, families and supporters to get involved on the day.
The aim behind the social media celebration is to counter some of the stigma and stereotypes which single parents still experience, according to the charities.
Single mum Claire, who works for OPFS in Dundee, said: "I am raising my children to the best of my ability in today’s socio-political climate.
“I look forward to when we truly celebrate the contribution made by those of us who parent alone, instead of describing single parenthood as an issue that needs to be solved. Society is a diverse array of shapes and sizes who all deserve to thrive equally.”
Messages will be shared throughout the day from parents and supporters on why they are celebrating single parents.
Director of One Parent Families Scotland Satwat Rehman commented: “This year on Single Parents Day we are joining our partner organisations across the UK and Ireland to send a strong message that single parents are valued and invaluable.
“Despite the fact that one in four families in the UK are headed by a single parent, stigma is still one of the main barriers that single parents face. Our own research found that 83% of single parents felt the media portrayed them in a negative light.
“The reality is that any parent can become a single parent and stereotypes are often wildly inaccurate. The average age of a single parent is in their mid-30s, most have only one child, and over three in five are in employment.
“Negative portrayals of single parents have an adverse impact on one single parent families and children, not only because experiencing stigma is, in itself, harmful to wellbeing, but because this allows the challenges faced by such families to be blamed on individuals rather than on structural inequalities and policy decisions.
“Taking the time to celebrate single parents and to encourage single parents themselves to be proud of what they do for their children is, we believe, an important way to start changing the conversation. We hope that as many single parents, family, friends and supporters as possible will join in on social media on 21 March to help us #CelebrateSingleParents.”
Messages will be shared throughout the day from parents and supporters on why they are celebrating single parents.
