Falling marriage rates hurting children

[foreigncorrespondent]

THE well-being of Australia's children and young adults has declined sharply in the past decade - and sliding marriage rates are partly to blame, a study has found.

Spiralling rates of child abuse and neglect, of children being placed in foster care and of teenage mental health problems - including a dramatic rise in hospitalisation for self-harm - are rooted in the rise of one-parent families and de facto couples, violent or unstable relationships and divorce, the report says.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/falling-marriage-rates-hurting-children-report-20110905-1jubf.html#ixzz1X5Wn4nxu

And yet, marriage is a sacred institution which belongs entirely to the heterosexual population, and queers are making a mockery out of it, by wanting to marry and supply a stable home environment for children belonging to one of both partners!

[hedgehog]

1. The key is stability, regardless of gender mix.

[foreigncorrespondent]

3. I agree. (n/t)

n/t

[CoffeeCat]

2. In my neighborhood...

...three teenagers have tried to commit suicide--in the past year.

One lives directly behind us...the other a few houses to the west...and the other a few houses to the east.

I live in a nice, suburban neighborhood.

I think there is a lot of pain in the world right now.

[foreigncorrespondent]

4. I live in a fairly small country town...

... not a lot of money around where I live. Every day I see children running around with no shoes on, some little tykes are running around naked, have holes in their clothes, look like they are starving, etc, and why? Because the stability these "loving man/woman marriages" is simply, make sure you have a case of beer in the car, go down the road to buy the drugs, and then party until you are pissed enough to go out and start a fight. No feeding the kids healthy meals. No making sure the kids aren't running around in the street with no shoes on. No making sure the kids have nice clothes. And the suicide rate for kids here is very high.

Now I live in this neighborhood with my ex and her two children (to a previous long ago relationship where her husband walked out on her when her youngest was a baby.) I remain here because I am my ex's main care giver. I also still help support her children because she is on a disability support pension. Anyway, working together to give those kids everything they need we have built up a nice stable living environment. The house is always clean, there is always a decent meal on the table, they have decent clothes to put on, and we manage to save out pennies to make the house comfortable as well. Gee, two women doing what the majority of heterosexual couples in this area can't do.

Might be a lot of pain in the world right now, but that is no excuse to neglect a child in my book. Sad really isn't it?

[NMMNG]

5. If falling marriage rates are an issue

maybe they should stop trying to keep people from getting married. :think:

[foreigncorrespondent]

6. Exactly!

I guess homophobes are just too damn stupid to get that!