Parents and Children

• Parents and Children - Topics:

  > child-bearing

  > lone parent families

  > stepfamilies
• Child-Bearing - Trends:

  > 47% of children are now born outside of marriage

  > women are having children later

  > women are having fewer children

  > more women are remaining childless
• Child-Bearing - Explanations for Trends:

  > decline in stigma

  > changing position of women
• Child-Bearing - Decline in Stigma:

  > it is more socially acceptable to have children later in life and outside of marriage

  > only 1/3 of 18-24 year olds think marriage should happen before parenthood
• Child-Bearing - Changing Position of Women:

  > women now have more options and opportunities, such as focusing on a career, before starting a family or having children at all

  > many are seeking to establish themselves in a career, which is evident through smaller family sizes and more women remaining childless
• Lone Parent Families - Trends:

  > over 90% of lone parent families are headed by women

  > one in four children live in a lone parent family

  > a child in a lone parent family is twice as likely to be in poverty than a child living with two parents
• Lone Parent Families - Explanations for Increase:

  > changing position of women

  > increase in divorce
• Increase in Lone Parent Families - Changing Position of Women:

  > women's greater financial independence means they can afford to be a lone parent

  > this is further supported by the increase in welfare benefits, which allow people to leave their partner even if they don't earn enough to support their children alone
• Increase in Lone Parent Families - Increase in Divorce:

  > separation creates more lone parent families as children stay with one parent predominantly

  > this may partly be due to a decline in stigma - it is no longer frowned upon to raise a child alone
• Lone Parent Families - Explanations for Female-Headed:

  > courts

  > impact of feminism
• Female-Headed Lone Parent Families - Courts:

  > mothers are more likely to gain custody of children during a divorce

  > this may be a result of socialisation - many people believe women are naturally suited to an expressive role
• Female-Headed Lone Parent Families - Impact of Feminism:

  > many lone parent families are female-headed because the mothers are single by choice - they may not want to cohabit or marry

  > greater career opportunities for women mean they can afford to support their child without involvement from the father
• Reconstituted Families - Pros and Cons:

  :) Ferri and Smith - stepfamilies are very similar to first families in all major respects, and the involvement of stepparents in childcare is a positive one

  :( Ferri and Smith - stepfamilies are at greater risk of poverty

  :( Allan and Crow - problems of divided loyalties and lack of clear social norms can cause tensions
• Reconstituted Families - Explanations for Increase:

  > divorce

  > courts
• Reconstituted Families - Divorce:

  > an increase in divorce is responsible for the creation of stepfamilies - stepfamilies are formed when lone parents form new partnerships
• Reconstituted Families - Courts:

  > more children in stepfamilies are from the women's previous relationship because, when marriages and cohabitations break up, children are more likely to remain with their mother