Nicole Simmons is “swimming in student loan debt – just drowning” in order to support herself and her two year-old daughter, Adelyn. As a single parent, it turns out she’s in a crowded pool.
According to the 2011 National Household Survey, single parents’ bank account balances in the HRM were three times as shallow as their co-parent counterparts’.
Source: Statistics Canada Families Households and Housing
Source: NHS Profile, Canada, 2011 – Census Tracts This suggests that, when it comes to family income, two parents might be better than one. A GROWING TREND While the voluntary nature of the data makes it less than perfect, it nonetheless paints a troubling picture.
Source: Statistics Canada Families Households and Housing
Co-parents’ triple financial advantage marks a 20 per cent increase from their 2009 income, when they brought in more than double what single-parent households did.
This ends up meaning a lot less money for a lot more single-families.
THE SINGLE MOTHER
Single parents head a substantial chunk of the families in Halifax.
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 111-0022 One in five women are already either single, divorced, or separated by the time they’ve given birth, suggesting a greater overall tendency towards single motherhood. And frankly, we’re mostly talking about mothers. Women headed the overwhelming majority of single-parent families in 2011 – more than 80 per cent.
Source: Statistics Canada Families Households and Housing
Unfortunately, this could account for why the income gap is so wide. According to Statistics Canada, when families with single-earners are headed by women, they tend to make far less than when it’s men who “bring home the bacon.”
Source: Statistics Canada. Table 111-0020 “Since I’ve had [Adelyn], I’m just at school during the days and she takes up my evenings and weekends so I haven’t really been able to return back to work,” said Simmons.
WHEN MONEY’S REALLY TIGHT…
When she was working, Simmons said that saving money was “no problem.” But now things are “a little bit tighter.”
For the lowest earning single parents in Halifax, it can be as tight as less than $17,000 a year.
Source: NHS Profile, Canada, 2011 – Census Tracts
Many single-parent families are concentrated in Halifax’s lower income areas, but even they fare better than some in other regions of the province – especially Digby, Nova Scotia.
Sources: NHS Profile, Canada, 2011 – Census Subdivisions
This is where Simmons has to drive to her mother every time she needs a babysitter for more than a few hours. She may not be paying for grandma’s time, but the six hour round-trip certainly makes her pay for gas.
“I had to buy a car for…getting [Adelyn] around, so I have to pay my payments on that which is tough – but doable. We’re getting by.”
WHEN TIME IS MONEY AND MONEY IS TIME
Simmons is working towards a career in Public Relations and Communications Technology, but she says it’s challenging to juggle spending time with her baby and “being there” for things that could eventually help her earn her more money.
“It hurts me that I’m not spending time with her and that I have to find babysitters on the evenings and weekends,” she said. “It’s tough.”
ARE TWO PARENTS BETTER THAN ONE?
Parenting in a partnership and parenting alone each come with their own set of unique challenges.
While things like finances and time are precious resources in a single parent’s home, Simmons says that having “that extra responsibility” can be a good thing too.
“I’m definitely more motivated to find a job and to do my best in school,” she said. “I don’t think I’d be as mature about it [as] I would [have been] if I didn’t have her.”
