Child Trends
reports that the number of kids born out of wedlock has risen. (Doesn't "wedlock" sound so, well, "ball-and-chain"?) According to the
research, 37 percent of babies today are born to unmarried parents, compared to 22 percent two decades ago. A little more than half of those children came into households where two parents were present. Highly educated, white women were least likely to have a child without being married, but were most likely to live with their partner if they did. More than 70 percent of pregnancies to unmarried, cohabiting partners were unintended. No word on how many came as the result of a few too many momosas.
The research led Child Trends to recommend some steps, such as better pregnancy prevention education for couples. They also cite studies showing that children born out of wedlock, even in cohabiting relationships, fare worse economically and emotionally than children of married couples, and suggest that couples should be supported in forming stable marriages.
Not to be the anti-marriage girl here, but I often wonder about some of these "marriage is the way" conclusions. Like, if the numbers of babies born outside marriage is going up because couples are living together without getting married due to some changing social conventions, will that actually change the statistical outcomes for babies in those families? Are the current prospects for kids with unmarried parents worse because the parents choose not to get married, or is there something to the fact that the parents don't want to get married that is having more of an effect on kids? Be careful with those research studies, my peeps.
