Single Mothers Raising Children with "Male-Positive" Attitudes

Among the challenges facing single mothers, a particularly difficult one is how to help children develop "male-positive" attitudes in situations when the parents have broken up and children have no active relationship with the father. Despite a large academic literature on single mothering, there is strikingly little discussion on this topic. Using symbolic interactionism and family systems theory, we offer psychoeducational messages for single mothers who want to raise their children with male-positive attitudes. We also call for a new cultural conversation on an issue ignored for too long. 2011