Lack of Parental Involvement 1

Lack of Parental Involvement

Mikayla Ector
Hampton University

Lack of Parental Involvement 2

Abstract
Parental Involvement deals with being fully committed and fully active in a childs life.
There are many problems concerning parents staying in a childs life. Some children grow up
differently than others. Some children grow up to be depressed, sad, mentally ill, or destroyed
blaming themselves when they grow up. Other children might grow up strong, and be able to
deal with only having one parent in their life. It might encourage and uplift them in doing
something for the both of the child and his/her parent. Lack of parental involvement can affect
children in school abundantly. They tend to have less focus, do bad in school, or even be bad at
school. Not having the parental guidance you need, some children tend to decline as they get
older. Sometimes dealing with school, teachers might see it as their parent neglecting them
because of lack of participation, but the thing is they just might not have the time, or resources to
know how to help out.
Introduction
There are many problems concerning parental involvement, which is the lack of parental
involvement. Parental Involvement has an abundant impact on a childs life and behavior. Having
lack of parental involvement in a childs life can create many struggles. Having one or no parents
in your life can hurt you emotionally, physically, and mentally. Children with uninvolved parents
often turn out depressed, mentally ill, or often feel neglected. Parents being neglected
themselves, tend to carry on the neglecting tendencies towards their child in the future. Negligent
parents, meaning, failing to take proper care in doing something, plays a big role in a child's
life. For negligent parents, it implies that someone has given up on caring. In some cases, parents

Lack of Parental Involvement 3

don't have the ability to give their child the help and love they need, but also cant bear to give
them up and have the same life they had. Children who lack supportive parents can have
adjustment problems later in life. However, just because a child may have lack of parental
involvement in their life, doesn't mean they cant be successful in life.

Negligent parents
Negligent parents have a large impact on a childs development. Not having a parent in
your life can be a very hard thing to deal with. Sometimes no matter at what age, it can still
affect you later in life. Without parental guidance, a child is more likely to experience withdraws
and depression throughout their life. Most cases dealing with negligent parents, children tend to
end up having mental effects in the long run. They become depressed because they don't have the
father or mother figure they want and need in their life. It can affect them in many ways, like in
school. It can mess up their focus, making them do bad in school, and can even turn them into a
bad kid. Most times when children see other kids their age with both parents they tend to feel
some type of way. For example, if they had a school performance and both of the childrens
parents were there, the kid with no parents or only one will feel sad, and might even mess them
up in their performance. Having one parent, especially only a mother figure may go a good way
or a bad way later in life. It can go a bad way because later in life if being a boy, not growing up
with a father figure they might end up doing the same thing to their kid. They might treat their
kid like this in the future because they didn't grow up with with a father figure themselves, being
emotionally destroyed, or becoming a careless person. It can go on a good route, being a son,
because they can end up being a mommys boy, and have the mindset that since their father

Lack of Parental Involvement 4

wasn't there for them he has to be strong for his mom. Or even, when he has kid, he's going to
stay in his or her life, because he knows how it feels to not grow up with a father figure. Also
growing up with one parent can leave a child with many dissociative disorders. Sometimes they
suffer from depression or even having a mental illness, wanting to commit suicide because they
don't feel complete.

Being Neglected
Neglect occurs when a parent or other primary caretaker chooses not to fulfill their obligations
to care for people for, or adequately supervise and monitor the activities of their child.( mental
dissorders) Thus, you can be neglected by not being feed, having a place to live, clothing, or
even dental or medical care. Many people who neglect their kids, were neglected themselves.
Not having one or both parents can carry on to the kids later in life. Some might really see it as
they want to be there for their children because there parent or parents couldn't be there for them
and give them a life they never had. This type of behavior was and can passed or inherited
through generations. From interviewing a friend, Jade Hewitt, she feels that since both parents
contributed into making the baby, they both need to contribute into having the baby. Both parents
need to agree, and be ready if it happens so they don't have to have any problems when it
happens. What needs to be done about this is that no matter the consequences or anything both
parents need to stay in their life. It took two too do the job, so it needs to be two when raising the
child. Fathers don't see that they play a very large role in a childs life, a father figure is always
needed, and we have too many fathers in this world who leave because they don't want any

Lack of Parental Involvement 5

children. Rodneys father basically neglected him because he didn't have any faith in his faith
son, and can never give him a break.

Negligence in Leaving Atlanta

We seen negligence in Leaving Atlanta. Rodney Greens father was the most negligent and
abusive character in the book. What made him abusive and negligent was that he beat Rodney
excessively. He made Rodney feel as though he couldnt do anything right, constant antagonizing
him, calling him a sissy. One example of Rodenys father beating him was when Rodney
disappeared and the school called his father to the school. When his father was there, he began to
beat Rodney in front of the whole class which later, lead Rodney into a point to where he just
couldn't take it anymore. Constantly beating your child is not a good idea, because it can push
them into a point where Rodney is at, to where he cant take getting a beaten anymore. His father
feels its the right way to raise his kid, thinking it would make him better, but he was wrong.
Going to the author reading my Ms. Tayari Jones, we began to touch basis on this topic. Ms.
Tayari Jones feels that you should keep your hands off people. Interviewing my mom, Ms.Hill,
she also believes that you shouldn't whoop your kids because you never know how they are
going to take it or react. She feels a simple time-out, and talking to your child is better than
physically hitting them.

How can this be overcame?

Growing up with only one parent in your life, preferably a mother figure in most cases is not a
good feeling. From interviewing my bestfriend, Morgan she has experienced this problem. She

Lack of Parental Involvement 6

feels it can only be over came by the way you take and see things. Not everybody is the same,
and take things as well as others. In her case, she took things pretty well and over came it by
seeing that it wasn't her fault her dad wasn't in her life. Growing up with only a mother figure,
and not a father figure you don't get the full experience as you want and need. This problem can
only be fixed based on the parents. Before having a child, the parents should have a discussion
about what if. What if it happens? What are they going to do about it. From research, majority
of people who leave their kids are fathers. Sometimes the case may be they couldn't afford it,
their parents wouldn't accept it, or maybe they just didn't want a kid at the time. There are may
reasons why someone might leave their kids life. But what they don't think about is, what will
happen to the child, or how will the child feel when they get older? It really affects kids,
especially in school, because they might get teased that they only have one parent in their life,
while others have both. That was what happened to my bestfriend. She is a very strong person
and even though the teasing and everything got to her, she still bared to keep her head up and
ignore it.
How does this affect children in school?
From research, lack of parental guidance in a child's life is mainly responsible for
children acting up being aggressive and violent in school. Parents being too busy with their jobs
could lead their child to being aggressive. Parents being at work all the time, barley have time for
their children. They don't have time to be their for their children, to know whats happening in
school, how they feel, talk to them about things, none of that because their so carried away with
their job. As a result, the child doesn't get the attention they need and want which may cause
them to be anti-social. Sometimes this may allow the school, to do the nannying and parenting

Lack of Parental Involvement 7

for him or her because they don't have the time. This might affect a child in school because they
might end up going to school sad everyday, or depressed and their parent not even knowing.
Eventually, the child might take it out on another child because the child has so much bottled up
in them. Which in this case, they might turn out to being a bully because no one may understand,
or know where they come from
Conclusion
In conclusion, having lack of parental involvement in your life can affect you in many ways. It is
very important to be there for your child, and raise them the correct way. Without parental
guidance, one might struggle growing up because they cant have what other people have, which
is both mother and father figure in their life. Especially not having a father figure in your life can
put you in a horrible place. Fathers are the main ones not there for their kids, and don't realize
that mostly everyone needs a father figure in their life, to get a males point of view about things,
and have that connection. You see many signs of negligence in Leaving Atlanta, where Rodneys
father abused him because he didn't like the things he were doing. Sometimes its best if the
parent just talk to their kids about what they did wrong, instead of physically hurting them
because it can go left really fast, and get old.

Lack of Parental Involvement 8

Work Cited
Encyclopediia Metal Disorders. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.
"Lack of Parental Guidance Is Mainly Responsible for Children Being Violent and Aggressive in
School." Lack of Parental Guidance Is Mainly Responsible for Children Being
Violent and Aggressive in School. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
Education and Parental Involvement in Secondary Schools: Problems, Solutions, and Effects.
Jeri LaBahn, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
Depression in Children: What Causes It and How We Can Help. Irina V. Sokolova, Dec. 2003.
Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
Practical Solution for Real Parental Problems. N.p., 21 June 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

Lack of Parental Involvement 9

Mikayla Ector
Eng102
Ms. McDonald
2/26/16
Interview with Morgan Williams, freshman in college at Howard University.
1. What is the difference from a child having one parent, rather than having both?
Morgan believes if your the only child with a single mom, you end up getting spoiled. When it
comes to decipline she thinks its not as harsh if you only have one parent in your life. There is a
difference btw having a single mother and a single father. In her case, she gets a lot of support
from other family members, because she only have her mother in her life. She's happy she's
fortunate to be blessed with such a wonderful family, that supports her.

2. Children growing up without parents tend to be depressed, grow up differently than

others, and have a different perspective view of things. Why is that?
She says she thinks children tend to be this way because they don't have the father figure, or
mother figure they need in their life, to guide them in the right path. She gives an example that
her father was there when she was younger but she didn't really remember having that
connection because and he moved to Atlanta. She stayed back and lived in California with her
mom. She believes she didn't grow up differently, she's the same person she would be. Especially
if one may become a foster kid, jumping from house to house, it will have a big impact on their
life.

3. Why do parents or a single parent not stick around with their kids knowing how they
might feel when they grow up?
She believes they probably didn't have enough money, they didn't want it, the father may wanted
her to have an abortian and she didn't agree, or they knew they couldn't take care of one, or their
family wasn't having it.Financial stability

4. Do you feel that kids turn out better or worse not growing up with one parent both?
She feels its a very hard question, become some people are different. She doesn't talked to her
dad, and feels like her uncle is her father. She feels that they turn out worse because they don't
have anybody to guide them, and might struggle with emotional issues, they might be insecure
about their place, because they feel like it was their fault why their mother or father figure .

Lack of Parental Involvement 10

Mikayla Ector
Eng102
Ms. McDonald
2/27/16
Interview with Kayla Williams

1. What is the difference from a child having one parent, rather than having both?
She believes difference is that they wont get the support they really need in life, and might not grow up
the same as one with both parents. Having one parent you, they could only do so much, and be there as
much as they can, but the child will always be missing a piece in their life.

2. Children growing up without parents tend to be depressed, grow up differently than others, and
have a different perspective view of things. Why is that?
She says that this is because they are not complete, they don't have that mother or father figure
perspective in their life. Their whole life is not complete, because their missing something. She grew up
without her father in her life, and in the beginning was sad about it but came to a realization that at the
end of the day, she knows it wasn't her fault. She is happy with her mom in her life, and does a good job
at what she is doing.

3. Why do parents or a single parent not stick around with their kids knowing how they might feel
when they grow up?
They might do this because they might not be financially stable. They might not have even agreed that
they both wanted it, or just wasn't ready.

4. Do you feel that kids turn out better or worse not growing up with one parent both?
She says that everybody is different, because she grew up fine with one parent in her life. But everybody
is not the same, and she believes kids turn out worse. She had a friend that was depressed because she
didn't have that father figure she wanted in her life, and always blamed herself for her father leaving her
and her mom. She was emotionally destroyed, she did overcome it. She believes she is one of the
strongest people she knows because of that.