Having both parents in a child's life is essential. Furthermore, it could be said that the effects of being a child or children with only one parent, or without any parents, can cause psychological/health problems, decrease cognitive/academic abilities and finally make children suffer from antisocial behavior. In other words, it's best to have both parents together and involved in your life. When I was 8 years old, I lost my mother. At first, things seemed to be going well, but as time went on, I realized that living with only my father was not only hard on me, but on him as well. At first I became very antisocial, then I started acting out, and things only got worse from there. My father, on the other hand, had the most difficult job. He had to smile at me in the morning to make me think life was still OK. The day I started to see through that fake smile was the day I realized that living with a single parent and being a single parent had taken a toll on my father and me. We started arguing to the point that there was police involvement. It didn't take long before I came out. I am currently a child without parental involvement, so I believe I know personally some of the effects this can cause. I'm not the only one. Recent studies show that “23% lived only with their mother, 5% lived only with their father, and 4% did not live with either parent” (Family Structure and Living Conditions of Children, Federal Interagency Forum on Children's Statistics and families). With this we can say that around 32% of adolescents do not live with both parents. What impact does this have on children? This can lead to psychological and health problems. Here are some examples: sleep disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, and sometimes...... middle of article ......ta, 1988). These figures are scandalous! What can we do to help these children? Looking at all these statistics and seeing what these children have to go through is unfair! I believe that children would not want to be born if they had the chance to see their life before they could live it. I also believe that if two people take the time to have a baby, they should both stick around and care for the child. The consequences of leaving these children behind are ridiculous and must stop. Watching children behave under the law and either end up in a dead end, a minimum wage job, or jail is not the American dream. Above all, children need both parents in their lives. “Just as it takes two people to bring a child into the world, it takes two to raise a child. Mothers and fathers are equally important at different stages of life.” (Denise)