Believe it or not, US families are doing better. Despite society’s relentless attempts to destroy the nuclear family, more kids are being raised with two parents than at any time since the 1990s. Here is the census data:
Surprising, right?
It turns out that the U.S. census bureau has an expansive view of what a “two parent family” is, often including step-parents and adoption. So, the Institute for Family Studies created a chart looking at how many kids are raised by their biological parents, and that number is also up.
It turns out that the percentage of U.S. children living with both birth parents is at 63.1 percent, compared to 61 percent in 2012.
Are more children being raised by two parents throughout their childhood compared to a decade ago? The answer is yes.
And when we look at the racial breakdown, there is a lot of good news.
Let’s hope these trends continue. Being raised by biological parents is the best arrangement for kids. Multiple studies have shown that kids raised by their biological parents do better emotionally, do better in school, are more prosperous economically and are less likely to be addicted to drugs or alcohol.
And it is always nice to find some good news amidst all of the negative trends in society these days.
This is definitely great news, but I would point out that the link you share has a slightly different statistic than you imply. The statement the page actually makes regards “children living with two biological parents or in a blended adoptive family.”
Obviously the ideal situation would be one in which every child was born, full term, to a pair of married, biological parents who will always be totally committed to each other; and in which every such couple was able to have biological children whenever they wanted to do so. But that’s not reality. We live in an imperfect world where every child is born in an imperfect situation. Adoption is a beautiful way for children in need to find parents who are desperate to love them, and for biological parents in need to bless those children with the best they can possibly provide.
Remember: adoption is about love. ♥
Good news indeed. I wonder how much of the data is explained by our country’s expanding the definition of marriage to include non-heterosexual couples, which happened around the same time as the trend change.
Here are some possible factors not being taken into account in the above.
1. the 2008 recession had a small effect of reducing the divorce rate.
2. Re: ” _High school seniors_ raised by both birth parents”. Something skewing this number would be children of single parents dropping out of school (before senior year) at a higher rate than children raised by both birth parents.
3. Low birth rate. The birth rate in the US has been falling for a long time. OoW births have supposedly plummeted. (Is that true?) Perhaps the birth rate of committed couples has fallen less than the birth rate of everyone else. That could also explain, or be a part reason, how the % of children raised by both biological parents is increasing.