We read at ojjdp.gov/ that back in 1970, two-parent households were 85.2% of American households; whereas at its nadir in 2006, it was just 67.4%. While the recent trend has been going up, the percentage of children under 18 living in two-parent households, is still significantly below the mark of 1970, as well as the fact that these percentages do not reflect as to whether or not these two-parent households are married or living together or something else, but merely reflect that children under 18 are living within a household in which it has been thus classified as a two-parent household.
It is no easy task to bring up children, and certainly it is a more cumbersome task to do so, in a single-parent household, especially when that single-parent household doesn’t have the time or the income to do what they really want to do with their children, but basically they are left with little choice except to do their best by their children, come what may. The salient difference between a two-parent household as contrasted with a single-parent household comes down to two factors. The first is income or wealth, and the second is free time to be spent by the parent(s) in activities with their children. The bottom line, is as they say two heads are better than one, signifying that two-parent households are typically going to represent a better and healthier environment for children, than a single-parent household, which doesn’t reflect that single-parent households don’t love their children just as much, but is a reflection that one parent can only do so much.
All of the above, would presuppose that in an age in which parents are having children at an ever later age, that those that desire to have children, should, to the degree that they can control things, should want those children to be raised in a loving two-parent household, of which, the governance of this nation, should do more to encourage this very thing. Again, those that are of childbearing age can choose to conceive or not to conceive per their choice, but in fairness to the children that will be born, it would be better for those children, to be brought up in a stable, loving, and resource strong family structure, typically best represented by a two-parent household.
All of us should want what is best for our children, and the better the structure and conditions that are there for those children, the better the result will typically be for those children, which is good for the family, as well as being beneficial for society. This indicates that it really does matter as to the environment that we grow up and are raised up in, and those therefore that come from favorable circumstances are going to be in a superior position for success and satisfaction, than all those that do not, which is why it is incumbent upon society to do more to lend a helping hand to those single-parent households, because they typically need and do appreciate positive assistance.