Children growing up in the United States come from different homes, but all experience and understand the meaning of family. Some children grow up in a single-parent family or with a mother and a father. Family plays a big role in their lives and their beliefs. Researchers have shown that being raised by a single parent can physically and mentally destroy a child's future. Growing up in any type of family can affect a child's life emotionally, physically, and socially. Children can always succeed in life whether they are raised by a single or joint family. Success is not determined by who raises a child, but by what the child wants to become in life. Do researchers have a valid argument that who raises a child can determine their success in life? Even though children from single-parent families are unlikely to succeed, children can still succeed. In “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker, she tells the story of a single mother raising two daughters and the mother has to play the role of both mother and father. In the story, "Mama" is described as a loving and strong mother to her daughters Dee and Maggie. She rejects the traditional gender role as she strives to raise and provide for her daughters; instead, she takes on an alternative male role. “Mama” prides herself on her sturdy nature and her ability to slaughter pigs and milk cows. Maggie is the youngest in the story described as a nervous young woman and is badly burned in a house fire as a child. Maggie lives at home and is protected from the outside world by her mom, but that only makes her a victim of the shelter. As a result, she suffers from crippling shyness and a lack of education. Maggie's relationship with her older sister Dee is common with sisters like...... middle of article ......national Journal of Eating Disorders 42.2 (2009): 153-157. Prime Minister of Academic Research. Guttmann, Joseph and Michal Rosenberg. “Emotional intimacy and children's adjustment: A comparison between divorced and intact single-parent families.” Educational Psychology 23.4 (2003): 457. Professional Development Collection. Kennedy, XJ and Dana Gioia. Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006. Print. Pike, Lisbeth T. “Effects of parental residential arrangements on the development of primary school-age children.” Family Matters 57 (2000): 40. MasterFILE Premier. Rozumah, Baharudin, Chi Yee Hong, Sin Jing Lim and Zulkefly Nor Sheereen. “Educational goals, parenting practices and adolescent academic success.” Asian Social Sciences 6 (2010): 144-152. Academic research completed. Internet. April 6. 2011.