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BEN ARNOLDY, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR - Kids just aren't as big a part
of American life as they used to be. Americans' child-free years are
expanding as empty-nest seniors live longer and more young adults delay
– or skip – childbearing. In 1960, nearly half of all households had
children under 18. By 2000, the portion had fallen to less than a third,
and in a few short years it's projected to drop to a quarter, according
to a report from the National Marriage Project.
Children are also taking a back seat in perceptions of marriage's
purpose. Since 1990, the percentage of people who said children were
very important to a successful marriage tumbled from 65 percent to 41
percent. The findings were released in a Pew Research report last week.
For some child-free Americans, their growing numbers argue for greater
equality with parents in government benefits, the workplace, and social
esteem. That worries family researchers and child advocates who see in
the same trends a move to a more "adult-centered culture" – one that
threatens the strength of families and the social compact to provide for
the next generation. . .
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0710/p01s06-ussc.htm
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BEN ARNOLDY, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR - Kids just aren't as big a part
of American life as they used to be. Americans' child-free years are
expanding as empty-nest seniors live longer and more young adults delay
– or skip – childbearing. In 1960, nearly half of all households had
children under 18. By 2000, the portion had fallen to less than a third,
and in a few short years it's projected to drop to a quarter, according
to a report from the National Marriage Project.
Children are also taking a back seat in perceptions of marriage's
purpose. Since 1990, the percentage of people who said children were
very important to a successful marriage tumbled from 65 percent to 41
percent. The findings were released in a Pew Research report last week.
For some child-free Americans, their growing numbers argue for greater
equality with parents in government benefits, the workplace, and social
esteem. That worries family researchers and child advocates who see in
the same trends a move to a more "adult-centered culture" – one that
threatens the strength of families and the social compact to provide for
the next generation. . .
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0710/p01s06-ussc.htm
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