However, I admit that women who decide to just have children and not be married or even have a serious relationship are a little crazy. I mean, power to them, but it's just not something I would choose for myself. Being a mother is a pretty crazy idea, but doing it all on your own? I couldn't do that. But this is not the only way to form single-parent households. Some are caused by divorce or abandonment and others by the death of a spouse. In situations where the mother becomes a single parent with children under the age of eighteen, economic vulnerability is inevitable. In the United States, more than half of all poor children live in single-parent families headed by their mothers. The reason is that women are more likely to work in low-paying jobs, or even have one at all. Due to financial uncertainty, the physical and emotional demands of a single parent increase. Single mothers have a higher percentage of depression and lower levels of self-esteem than married women, especially if they are teenage mothers who do not have their GED. Single fathers face a very different situation. They are generally more educated, have higher-level careers, and maintain these professions even after becoming single parents. Like single mothers, single fathers reported difficulty balancing work and family, especially