Why stories with one missing parent?

From my point of view, if parents (or one parent, even) are out of the way it gives the big brother/step-brother a chance to act as disciplinarian. I find this a much more appealing scenario. But, of course, that is just personal choice.

I've used it too. I've noticed, especially in Grace Brackenridge's stories, the "broken home" (or widowed parent one) is often used by her to facilitate children manipulating circumstances so as to result in them getting spanked. I think it enables a different kind of scenario than having two parents, who are often conflicted about the efficacy (or even the desirablity) of corporal punishment for their offspring...

The one-parent scenario works very well especially with naughty girls - if they're left with Mom then she's stressed or guilty that there's no father figure around, if they're left with Dad he'll treat her as his precious little princess until the reality hits home. And why not dispense with that parent altogether and leave her to the mercy of a very strict aunt and/or uncle?

There are many reasons for there to be only one parent in a story, or for it to involve a "broken home". Three that come to mind are:

Having only one parent in a story means there are no discussions, appeals, etc when a spanking is declared. It puts all of the power in one person's hands while keeping the number of characters manageable.

Adding step parents add a new dynamic of a person who is and isn't a "real parent", plus there's the tension with the bio-parent angle. The fact that the step parent has entered the family at a late date is the perfect justification for changing parenting styles. Or there might be a "my other parent spanks me, why don't you?" lie told.

Having a woman using her child in a "get a good man" plan (the way that some of Grace's stories go) is a way of examining bad parenting styles without getting into extreme neglect / abuse territory.

Goodgulf

It may be that the writer's core fantasies involve being spanked by a person of the opposite gender, or possibly by a person of the same gender. So the parent of the gender not fantasized about is not present, but some explanation for that parent's absence is given. (Death, divorce, travel being part of the job, and so on.)

Whether my underage spankee protagonist is male or female, if he/she is going to be parentally walloped, my clear-cut fantasy preference is that it be by a woman.

I'm usually not even bothered to explain why 'Dad' isn't ever around, or even referred to, but my preference would be that he's "a businessman who travels a great deal." (I don't unnecessarily cause fictional men to suffer death or divorce.) If the guy does show up, it's almost certainly to be embarrassingly chastised by his wife, possibly in front of her girlfriend(s) and/or his daughter(s), or even with her (their) participation in his punishment.

So he may be better off 'on the road,' from that perspective... --C.K.

I can attest to that statement. CK doesn't mess around.

I usually don't write child spankings; I have only one series with an incapable Aunt who has to learn to organize and discipline her orphan niece. But generally, I focus on the relationships of the characters and the settings. I would rather have 2 or 3 well developed characters than a host of characters wondering in and out of the story. Also, I like to allow for the characters to grow and change to have a satisfying story.
Islandcarol

I, on the other hand love to have my characters wondering in the story. Sometimes they also wonder in my head as well, out of the story. Their internal dialogue is a great way to talk about the issues.