![]() ![]() In terms of policy, the key goal is to help adults avoid unplanned pregnancies, not least through improved access to long-acting forms of contraception, as my Brookings colleague Isabel Sawhill has argued for some time. It is also likely, however, that marriage acts as a “commitment device,” helping couples to sustain their relationship. It seems likely that the decision to marry is a signal of this commitment. But those who have chosen marriage before childrearing are those who tend to stay the course. To the extent that biological parents stay together and provide a stable environment, it doesn’t much matter if they are married. Manning concludes: “The family experience that has a consistent and negative implication for child health in both cohabiting and married parent families is family instability.” ![]() This instability is what damages children’s well-being, as Ms. ![]() Children born to cohabiting couples do worse because their parents are much more likely to break up two-thirds have split up before their child reaches age 12, compared with a quarter of married parents. So what’s going on here? The issue is the fragility of cohabiting vs. Manning also shows that among children currently living with both biological parents, there is no difference between those being raised by a married couple compared to a cohabiting couple. Children born to cohabiting parents do worse on most indicators of health and skills than those born to a married couple, with the negative impacts visible well into adolescence, according to a review from Wendy Manning in the latest volume of “The Future of Children” (a joint Princeton-Brookings publication). Marriage matters to the extent that it promotes this stability and commitment.Īt first glance, the evidence seems clear. What really matters for kids is family stability and committed parenting. It is helpful to get some conceptual clarity. This can become a messy debate, tangling personal morality and social science. The question is the extent to which marriage and stable committed relationships amount to essentially the same thing. Citing a new report from the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute on opportunity and poverty (which I helped to author), the paper editorialized that “we must send a clear social message that it’s better to put off having children until you’re in the kind of stable long-term relationship required to support them.” Last week, the editorial board of the Charlotte Observer weighed in. Newton’s decision to become a father without first tying the knot has taken on symbolic significance. But the star quarterback’s personal life has been criticized since his girlfriend, Kia Proctor, gave birth to their son on Christmas Eve.Īgainst a backdrop of high and rising non-marital birth rates, Mr. When Cam Newton takes the field Sunday, most Carolina Panthers fans will be focused on his passing, running, and leadership, not his marital status. ![]()
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