Report: 48 percent of first children born out of wedlock

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
3/21/2013
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Children without fathers still have tougher time than those who do

A report from academics and social scientists are calling it "The Great Crossover." Teen pregnancy is down, but woman in their twenties are increasingly having children out of wedlock. Statistics prove that 48 percent of all first children born in the U.S. are in a home with an absent father. While modern demographics and social change have contributed to these statistics, children with an absent or semi-permanent man in the house still face a tougher start than children who do.

Delayed marriage does not necessarily mean delayed motherhood. The 'private' decision to become a parent ahead of a marriage commitment - when done by such a large a portion of the population - has consequences for society at large, experts warn.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Today, young people in the U.S. are waiting longer to marry. The average age of woman who marries for the first time is 27, for men, 29. More young people today are getting their college educations and exploring all the options that life has to offer before settling down.

"Culturally, young adults have increasingly come to see marriage as a 'capstone' rather than a 'cornerstone' - that is, something they do after they have all their ducks in a row, rather than a foundation for launching into adulthood and parenthood," the report states.

Furthermore, by the age of 30 two-thirds of American women have had a child, typically out of wedlock.

Kay Hymowitz, an author of the report and a William E. Simon Fellow at the Manhattan Institute says this proves that the typical attitude of marriage has changed. This includes young adults who say marriage and children "are two separate things," Hymowitz says.

The report cites two major reasons. Middle class American men having difficulty finding stable employment that allows them to support a family and "a less understood" reason about disconnect between marriage and childbearing.

The report states that the "good news" of delayed marriage is that women can more easily have successful careers, and divorce rates are lower for later marriages.

However - as recent figures have found, delayed marriage does not necessarily mean delayed motherhood. The "private" decision to become a parent ahead of a marriage commitment - when done by such a large a portion of the population - has consequences for society at large, experts warn.

"Researchers now view family instability as one of the greatest risks to children's well being," the report states. "Yet unmarried adults, including single 20-somethings who make up about half of unmarried parents, are by definition unsettled.

"Most researchers agree that on average, whether because of instability or absent fathers or both, children of unmarried mothers have poorer outcomes than children growing up with their married parents."

Patrick Fagan, senior fellow and director of the Marriage and Religion Research Institute at the Family Research Council says that the prevailing social ethos in today's culture that "anything goes" results in disconnect between this kind of data and its moral implications.

"Government is incompetent in social policy," Fagan said. "That is very clear.

"The competence lies within the family, within the church and within the school," Fagan said. "They are the three people-forming institutions."

� 2013, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Out of wedlock births, single moms, marriage, study

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1 - 4 of 4 Comments

Terri Kim.
2 months ago
I married at 21 and had our first child 11 months later. That was twenty years ago. It was very difficult because I was close to finishing college when our baby was born, but I opted to stay home instead. I can't even begin to count the disparaging comments I got from older women. Generally speaking, I think my mother's generation is poisoned by militant feminism. I caught nasty remarks from strangers on the street as my family continued to grow. It was almost always spew from an older woman.

I think this trend toward single motherhood may be backlash. It's disordered, no doubt, but I think it may be part of a rebellion against the older generations who say that motherhood is "slavery", etc. These are women who haven't been able to overcome the cultural coersion to reject marriage and the natural gender roles, but are pushing back nonetheless. Perhaps we could consider it hopeful that they have not been able to totally suppress their feminine natures which yearn for motherhood.

The children are caught in the gap. It's a travesty.
Rachel
2 months ago
i was married at 22 and had a son at 23. that was far too young. i should have waited to marry for a few years.
abey
2 months ago
Every such thing, even in the name of liberty that comes out, need no be to the truth of Life & in this case Physical maturity it seems, but arising out of an irresponsible behavior, disregarding the truth of the Maker to a Spiritual darkness, which is but unto him, the god of this world. Without a Father it becomes "Convenient" for Governments, in this case The Beast, to get its Agendas through controls eventually going against the God given liberty, which invariably comes in the form of Spiritual enslavement.
vance
2 months ago
This is sad but true news.

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