Reply #2: I don't think this is a good thing [View All]

[liberalpragmatist]

Certainly, you can have a perfectly good family structure with a single mother or unmarried parents. And many, many children who come out of those households do fine.

But is that the majority? The unfortunate reality is that most unwed mothers are people who can't afford children, who have unplanned pregnancies, and are young. Without some kind of stable family structure - and I believe that includes MANY different types - children often do suffer. Having a single mother or ummarried parents itself isn't a cause for concern. The problem is that many single mothers are not economically self-sustaining and if that's followed by a number of shoddy marriages or live-in relationships with various boyfriends - well, that doesn't really provide for the most stable family structure, now does it?

ON EDIT: It does appear the article notes the major source of this rise is from the rise in unmarried couples having children, particularly those in their older 20s. That's not really a problem, particularly if the couple intends to stay together or marry.