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Number of Children Living With 2 Parents Increasing, Data Shows

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Newly published data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that the proportion of American children living in two-parent families increased to 71.1% in 2023, continuing a slight upward trajectory since 2015.

The numbers appear to contradict a popular narrative in the mainstream media that American society no longer aspires to establish households with a mother and father to parent children.

As noted by Nicholas Zill, a research psychologist and a senior fellow of the Institute for Family Studies, the Census Bureau data “includes children living with a birth parent and stepparent and couples who are cohabiting without being married.”

Zill goes on to observe that the proportion of children who live with two parents has been inching upward for some time. After increasing from 67.3% to 69.4% between 2005 and 2010, the number has steadily crept upward from 69.2% in 2015 to 71.1% by the end of last year.

The numbers appear to contradict widely accepted narratives offered by writers at legacy media outlets like The Atlantic, The New York Times, and a number of others about the supposedly inevitable decline in two-parent family structures. (Read more from “Number of Children Living With 2 Parents Increasing, Data Shows” HERE)

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The Collapse of the Traditional American Family

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The Joint Economic Committee of Congress has just produced an important new study titled “The Demise of the Happy Two-Parent Home.”

The report exhaustively presents data showing the shocking collapse of marriage and traditional family in America and then explores possible explanations for why it has happened. . .

The relevant questions are: Why should the collapse of marriage in the United States concern us? And why is this happening?

Regarding the first question, it depends on your values. To the large but dwindling number of Americans who care about traditional biblical morality, the collapse of marriage and family, the openness to other lifestyles prohibited by biblical morality, is of concern. It is not a healthy sign about what is happening in our culture. . .

The report examines several possible factors, a major one being the dramatic growth in the welfare state supporting female heads of household. (Read more from. “The Collapse of the Traditional American Family” HERE)

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Wheelchair-Bound Girl in Middle of Interview When Brother Suddenly Makes Tearful Confession

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We don’t always know what we mean to those in our lives until they’re asked to share their feelings. If you’re one who gets choked up by watching sentimental videos, this one will push all your emotional buttons. There’s nothing wrong with that at all. In fact, it’s important to let those around you know how you feel about them. This story involving Trenton and his little sister, Lindsay is one of the most heartwarming I’ve ever seen. After watching it, I have no doubt you’ll agree.

Lindsay is wheelchair bound; she was born with a rare disorder called Spinal Muscular Atrophy. She doesn’t allow her disability to slow her down or get in her way of living a healthy life. It doesn’t hold her back one bit. And it’s because of the support she receives on a daily basis from her big brother, Trenton that keeps her on an equal footing with her environment.

She received an Unsung Hero award for all the great work she’s done. Lindsay doesn’t take all the credit for her accomplishments. She fully acknowledges the part her brother plays in allowing her to live her life.

Here’s where this tale gets tough to watch. For those with a stiff upper lip, be warned, you’ll have difficulty maintaining your composure. As Trenton was asked to explain what his sister means to him, the little man had a hard time gathering his thoughts.

(Read more from “Wheelchair-Bound Girl in Middle of Interview When Brother Suddenly Makes Tearful Confession” HERE)

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Study Reveals the Most ‘Difficult’ Family Members

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Tired of your mother or sister prying into your personal life? You’re not alone. While the women in our lives often prove to be the most caring and helpful in times of need, a new study finds that female family members also tend to be the most difficult.

Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley and Bar-Ilan University in Israel used surveys focusing on the relationships of more than 1,100 adults young and old from the San Francisco Bay Area. Of the 12,000-some personal relationships — including close and casual friends, family members, or colleagues — described in their responses, the research team honed in on individuals whom the respondents flagged as people they “sometimes find demanding or difficult.”

While about 15 percent of relationships were dubbed as difficult, the authors found that close female relatives — mothers, sisters, and wives — led the way in that category. It’s very likely, however, that women ranked more prominently because they tend to be the ones who involve themselves more deeply in a person’s life, while men tend to be more passive.

“The message here is that, with female relatives, it can be a two-sided thing. They may be the people you most depend on, but also the people who nag you the most,” says study senior author Claude Fischer, a sociology professor at Berkeley, in a news release. “It’s a testament to their deeper engagement in social ties.”

Generally speaking, parents, siblings and spouses were named most frequently as difficult individuals. As for who was the least frustrating, participants agreed that friends led the pack, only representing about 7 percent of the bothersome bunch. (Read more from “Study Reveals the Most ‘Difficult’ Family Members” HERE)

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Congressman Calls Absentee Fathers a National Crisis

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America is becoming a land of absentee fathers and it is leaving generations of children unfamiliar with what a good dad looks like, and Rep. Bill Johnson says that is a national crisis that must be addressed.

The Ohio Republican is the author of “Raising Fathers: How Nurturing and Encouraging Fatherhood Helps Strengthen Families and Our Nation.”

The intensely personal book includes many stories of Johnson growing up in what he calls a dysfunctional family as well as his candid insights into the end of his first marriage and the unplanned pregnancy of his unwed daughter.

Recent government statistics show roughly half of all Americans births now occur outside of marriages. The out-of-wedlock birthrate in the black community is around 70 percent. For white Americans, the rate is near 40 percent.

Johnson says he wrote the book because countless young people are deeply deprived without a loving, stable father in the home. (Read more from “Congressman Calls Absentee Fathers a National Crisis” HERE)

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‘The Lord’s Been Good’: Mother Reunited With Daughter After 62 Years

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In 1954, Goldie Waltman was young, single and unemployed. She’d just given birth to a daughter, Patricia Lorenz, when she realized she couldn’t take care of the baby and left her in the care of a couple she’d been staying with. She prayed for her daughter every day, but leaving her wasn’t easy. “I gave her up, and it was the hardest thing I ever did in my life,” the 85-year-old Waltman said, in a story reported by Fox8.

She kept her daughter a secret from her five children born later. Waltman’s daughter Kellie Taylor said that it was at a doctor’s visit five years ago that she and another sister found out about Lorenz. The doctor asked Waltman how many children she had and she said six. “No, you have five,” her daughter said. When Waltman responded, “No, I have six,” her daughters realized they had a sibling they never knew.

For the last five years the family has searched for Lorenz without luck. Two weeks ago, Waltman connected with her daughter through ancestry.com and the two sent messages back and forth. Waltman got a phone call the same day from the little girl she gave up so long ago. “She said ‘It’s Patty,” and I said ‘Oh!’” said Waltman.

Waltman’s family flew Lorenz to see her mother this week, reuniting mother and daughter after 62 years. “I finally got to see her,” said Waltman. “The Lord’s been good. I didn’t think this would ever happen.”

Lorenz was just as excited to see her birth mother after searching for her for 47 years. “I don’t know how to explain it,” she said. “I’ve been excited about coming to meet her and see her for so long, and it’s like a reality come true.”

Lorenz will meet the rest of the family throughout the weekend. (For more from the author of “‘The Lord’s Been Good’: Mother Reunited With Daughter After 62 Years” please click HERE)

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Seattle Bureaucrats Seek to Ban Single-Family Homes, Calling Them ‘Racist’

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Do you live in a single-family dwelling? If you do, then you’re a bigot and a racist, according to some liberal whack jobs in Seattle.

As reported by GovtSlaves.info and The Seattle Times, the Seattle city council and mayor have seriously considered scrapping traditional neighborhoods that consist of single-family homes in an effort to drive people into collective housing – apartments and other types of multi-family dwellings – and for nothing as noble, perhaps, as “the environment” (though the reasoning doesn’t matter in a country where individual rights are supposed to trump those of liberal collectivists in government).

A change (that has been rejected thus far) to the liberal city’s zoning regulations, would have empowered the government to authorize the construction of multi-family housing units in all neighborhoods. And while some have labeled the idea nothing more than an outrageous Internet rumor, GovtSlaves.info noted, it is anything but.

“We can still be a city for everyone, but only if we give up our outdated ideal of every family living in their own home on a 5,000 square foot lot,” said a letter from the co-chairs of the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda, or HALA . . .

“Seattle (single-family) zoning has roots in racial and class exclusion and remains among the largest obstacles to realizing the city’s goals for equity and affordability,” the letter continued, whose authors never cited a shred of evidence to back up their claim and who likely thought that by merely mentioning the word “racism” they could bully opponents into backing down. (Read more from “Seattle Bureaucrats Seek to Ban Single-Family Homes, Calling Them ‘Racist'” HERE)

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According to a Study, Parents With This Many Children Are the Happiest

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family_reunion_-_thinkstock1The happiest parents are—drumroll, please—parents with four or more kids.

Parents of large families were found to have the most life satisfaction, according to a study by Australia’s Edith Cowan University. Dr. Bronwyn Harman, of the psychology and social science school at the university, spent five years studying what types of families are most content.

“[The parents] usually say they always wanted a large family, it was planned that way, and it was a lifestyle they’d chosen,” Harman told The Sydney Morning Herald.

During her five-year study, Harman interviewed hundreds of parents from different family makeups. Her findings are based on resilience, social support, self-esteem, and life satisfaction.

Her research points out that parental happiness relates to how much effort has been put into growing the family.

“What is important for kids are things like consistency, boundaries and [to] know that they are loved, no matter what,” Harman tells ABC Australia.

Prior to the study, Harman thought parents with more children would be less happy.

Though larger families may have more chaos and expenses than a smaller family, Harman’s research shows that these issues are balanced by the amount of joy received from having more children.

Her findings show that children who grow up in large families learn independence at a young age and always have someone to play with. (For more from the author of “According to a Study, Parents With This Many Children Are the Happiest” please click HERE)

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Judge Jails Kids for Refusing Lunch With Dad

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Three Oakland County children who refused to go to lunch with their father, as part of a bitter divorce and custody battle between their parents, are spending their summer in the county’s juvenile detention center, according to court records.

“We’ll review it when school starts, and you may be going to school there,” Oakland County Family Court Judge Lisa Gorcyca told the children during a June 24 hearing, referring to the center in Waterford Township called Children’s Village, where authorities house as many as 200 juvenile offenders.

Gorcyca, who blamed their mother for poisoning the children’s attitude toward their father, ordered the children be sent to the center for defying her orders — while in court — that they go to lunch with their father.

The children — ranging in age from 9 to 14 — were deemed in contempt of court last month by Gorcyca for disobeying her orders to “have a healthy relationship with your father” . . .

“But I do not apologize for — for not talking to him because I have a reason for that and that’s because he’s violent and he — I saw him hit my mom and I’m not gonna talk to him,” the boy said, later telling the judge, “I didn’t do anything wrong.” (Read more from “Judge Jails Kids for Refusing Lunch With Dad” HERE)

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What We Lose With Only Two Children per Family

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Ellen_H._Swallow_Richards_House_Boston_MA_01A mainland Chinese student visited my office last week, asking for a letter of recommendation for his transfer to another university. It is hard to lose a student like this—enthusiastic and bright, the sort who sits on the front row of a large auditorium lecture class and asks good questions.

He gave the usual reasons for wanting to transfer: he liked Pepperdine, of course, but it did not offer the technically specialized majors he or his parents were seeking. When asked where he was applying, he listed some elite East-Coast schools, but he seemed most interested in two Hong Kong universities. When asked why, he mentioned a girlfriend, but emphasized that he had a cousin back in China to whom he was extremely close: “He is like a brother to me.”

Since our conversation I keep returning in my thoughts to this student’s strong tie to his cousin. It is not unusual for cousins to be very close, of course, but that is not what is so striking in this case. I have been privileged to know many mainland Chinese students over the last two decades at Pepperdine, but none has ever mentioned so much as a brother or a sister, much less a cousin. On one side of this student’s family, his grandparents brought two children into the world in the teeth of a one-child policy backed by a totalitarian state.

I don’t know any details of how they managed it—through connections, wealth, or endurance amid persecution—only that they did. In bearing the cost, they realized a gift for themselves, and perhaps were aware that they were giving each of their children the gift of a sibling. I wonder if they realized what a gift they were giving to their grandson: a cousin who was “like a brother” to someone who had no brother or sister . . .

China’s one-child policy has stripped the social space between the state and the individual of every protection that the most natural community, the family, can provide. How much more damaging must be the collapse of family size in Chinese culture, in which family ties have played such an important role? I know I’m not saying anything new (see Nick Eberstadt on the economic effects of the policy), but we cannot remind ourselves too often of what is lost as family sizes have collapsed (through state coercion or, more sadly, voluntarily). (Read more from “What We Lose With Only Two Children per Family” HERE)

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