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I was also a son raised by a single mom. My take: I certainly didn't have authority over my mom, but I definitely felt like I had a lot of responsibility. Hous
by tenacious_tuna 8y ago
I was also a son raised by a single mom.
My take: I certainly didn't have authority over my mom, but I definitely felt like I had a lot of responsibility. Households are typically run by (at least) two people, and for good reason. I stepped up where I could--helping manage the dog, helping make food, staying out of trouble when she couldn't watch me, in general trying to keep stress off of my mom--not because I felt like I was in a position of authority, but because there wasn't another adult to help shoulder the load, so some of the load fell to me.
- Wowfunhappy 8y agoIf you were raised by a single father and/or you were a girl, do you think the same responsibility would have fallen to you?
- bdalgaard 8y agoI was the born in the 80's, oldest brother of three siblings, mother died when I was 7 and my father didn't remarry until after college. tenecious_tuna's comment sounds very familiar. I wouldn't put too much stock in the "man of the house" phrasing in this case. I'm not so sure it's a male/female distinction, I just felt like I had a different set of worries and responsibilities than my peers growing up. To be fair, it wasn't just me as the oldest. I think my brother and sister shouldered many of the same worries that I did; I was just a few years older than them so I had the older brother experience and the single-parent experience at the same time.
- tomhoward 8y agoI've certainly seen multiple cases of girls embracing quasi-parental roles in the partial or permanent absence of a mother in the home. There's no need to invoke gender-wars arguments in this discussion; it's a simple matter of people in families doing what they can to manage difficult situations.