In her article entitled “Motherhood is no Facebook fantasy life” in the South China Morning Post dated November 24, Miss Amy Wu raises doubt about the increasing attempts of single women to pursue motherhood, taking advantage of the ease afforded by advances in medical science.
I fully agree with her
that careful consideration is essential before one decides to ‘jump on the baby
bandwagon’, as Miss Wu puts it. Single parenthood may have been glamourised
through the flow of photographs and posts on Facebook, but raising a child solo
is by no means easy or rosy.
The single mother will
be confronted with serious problems for the foreseeable future. It is widely
known that raising and educating a child can be a huge financial burden these
days. Besides, even with the help of a babysitter, the single mother must dedicate
a lot of time and attention to taking care of the child. Moreover, as the child
grows up gradually, the unpleasant realities of life without a father will gradually
make themselves felt.
In the present world
one needs to survive great challenges. The single mother ought to be ready to
bring up a child brave and strong enough to endure life’s hardships that exacerbate
with calamities such as global temperature rise, conflicts between nations and others .
In addition,
consideration ought not to be taken only from the mother’s point of view. While
thinking how much she will benefit from having a child in terms of personal
satisfaction, should she not also give some thought to the child’s own needs?
If the child could, would he choose to be born of a single parent? Would he not
see the lack of a father a regret in life?
By no means do I want
to spread pessimism. We have heard of the success of people born of single parents.
But as Miss Wu says, ‘unwed women ought to think carefully before taking a leap
where there is a point of no return, for better or worse’.
Raising a kid "successfully" is a mission that can be achieved more easily with two individuals, namely the father and the mother, from my perspective. As long as I am single, I dare not bet on the future of my kid by raising him or her alone, even there may be help from parents or maids. Huge amount of personal time and care should be dedicated to the kid. If one can be assured of such dedication, I will give her my blessing. Otherwise, pls think twice and don't go with the flow.
回覆刪除You are right. Both parents should be involved in raising a child; otherwise he would be deprived of paternal guidance. Besides, from a religious point of view, it's even against the natural law for unwed women to have children. In any case, careful consideration is essential. Thanks for your comment, Greenie!
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