According to Maria Sophia Aguirre, an economics professor at Washington DC’s Catholic University of America, families with married parents are not only more beneficial to the overall health and development of the children, they are necessary for good economic development.
Aguirre noted, “the breakdown of the family is a symptom of a sick and weak society.”
Problems of all sorts increase in irregular families: Women are more likely to be abused, kids are more likely to use drugs, and women and children of broken families have a higher probability of living in poverty. …
Giving a review of nations ranging from Canada to Chile, the economist concluded that families are simply better for the economy.
“The breakdown of the family damages the economy and society since human, moral and social capital is reduced and social costs increase,” she explained.
Divorce is unfortunately a painful reality, and in many cases it can’t be avoided. But at the same time, we’re living in a culture that places less and less value on marriage.
- The divorce rate in the United States is somewhere between 40 and 50%, one of the highest percentages in the world.
- The U.S. has the highest percentage of single-parent families among all developed nations (34% as of 1998).
- 41% of unmarried partner households in the U.S. have children under 18 living in them, and 33% of all births are to unmarried women.
But as Aguirre points out, simply having dinner together as a family has significant benefits, even for single-parent households:
Academic performance went up 38%. Kids were 142% less likely to smoke, 93% less likely to drink, 191% less likely to use marijuana and 169% less likely to have more than half of their friends be drug users.
I can personally attest to this. Like many kids, I grew up in a single-parent household and spent a lot of my childhood alone. While I never smoked or used drugs, I can say for sure that I struggled academically and socially a lot more than I would’ve with both parents around.
The bottom line should be pretty clear: A nation has its best chance for survival and prosperity when its children grow up to be responsible and capable adults, and children have their best chance at becoming responsible and capable adults when they grow up with loving parents who invest their time in them.
Previously:
Single parents cost taxpayers $112 billion
