# single parent terminology **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 25, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-parent-terminology/568949 "2011-01-25T19:23:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-parent-terminology/568949/1 "2011-01-25T19:23:29Z")
Is a man who has joint custody (50/50) of a child rightfully considered a “single father?” I’m talking the kid spends 1 week with dad, 1 week with mom, etc. Not a weekend dad. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-parent-terminology/568949/2 "2011-01-25T19:26:16Z")
When someone tells me they are a ‘single parent’ I assume that the other parent has no responsibility for the child. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-parent-terminology/568949/3 "2011-01-25T19:35:46Z")
I’d say yes until the man remarries. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-parent-terminology/568949/4 "2011-01-25T19:45:55Z")
Even a parent who has custody every other weekend and hasn’t remarried is a single parent. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-parent-terminology/568949/5 "2011-01-25T19:51:10Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > When someone tells me they are a ‘single parent’ I assume that the other parent has no responsibility for the child. YMMV. Yeah, that’s usually the way I interpret it. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-parent-terminology/568949/6 "2011-01-25T19:51:26Z")
Of course. Why wouldn’t he be? He’s single. He’s a parent. He’s a single parent. Is the woman in your scenario a single mother? Then by what logic wouldn’t the father be a single father? ---
**Author:** ![llcoolbj77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb9ed0/32.png) [@llcoolbj77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/llcoolbj77)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-parent-terminology/568949/7 "2011-01-25T19:59:22Z")
I take it to mean a person who is raising a child, and has no significant other. If Dad is single, i.e., without partner, during the week he has the kid… then he is a single parent. Single mother doesn’t necessarily equate to absentee dad. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-parent-terminology/568949/8 "2011-01-26T13:24:19Z")
To my mind it implies an absent other parent. ---
**Author:** ![RachelChristine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RachelChristine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RachelChristine)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-parent-terminology/568949/9 "2011-01-26T13:41:19Z")
While my mind immediately assumes that a single parent is the sole custodial parent (although the other parent isn’t necessarily gone, they might just be the every-other-weekend type), I don’t think it has to be that way. I see nothing wrong with considering yourself a single parent if you are splitting 50/50, like in the OP. You are still primarily responsible for the child during your half of the time, you are single, you are a parent. Yup! ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-parent-terminology/568949/10 "2011-01-26T14:00:34Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > When someone tells me they are a ‘single parent’ I assume that the other parent has no responsibility for the child. YMMV. That’s not how I read it. A single parent is one who does not have a co-parent at home. The other parent could be very involved, but I’d not living in the house. The only exceptions are when two married/committed parents are separated not by choice- military deployment etc. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/single-parent-terminology/568949/11 "2011-01-27T04:34:35Z")
I would assume a parent who had a significant responsibility for the child. 50% of the week definitely counts. It’s hard to say what ‘significant’ is, but, to take a fictional example, Frasier in his Frasier days would not to me be a single father. He’s a father, yes, but he’s not going to have to say no to tennis every Saturday morning due to childcare responsibilities.