Unwed parents wrecking families, says British study
December 7th, 2010 - 5:56 pm ICT by IANSLondon, Dec 7 (IANS) Nearly half of children born today in Britain will be living in broken homes by the age of 16 as growing numbers of families split up.
The sharp increase in unmarried couples having children was to blame for the rise in parental separation rates, says a study from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) think-tank in the UK.
The report called for a major shift in policy to reassert the “vital” importance of marriage as a more stable form of commitment than cohabitation.
The research suggested that the taxpayer spent billions of pounds on benefits for single parents as a result of the “utterly avoidable” breakdown in families every year, reports the Telegraph.
It followed concerns from Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, that society pays a “heavy price” for separation, in terms of the cost of crimes committed by children from broken homes, lost taxes and rising benefit bills.
Growing numbers of couples are choosing to start a family without getting married first. But the study cited figures showing that unmarried couples were more likely to separate.
It warned that the number of children who will see their parents split up by the time they are 16 had risen from 40 percent in the mid-1980s to 48 percent today.
The study drew on figures from the Office for National Statistics and the Millennium Cohort Study and took account of differing levels of education and income.
It was authored by Harry Benson, founder of the Bristol Community Family Trust, a relationship education charity.
Benson said ministers should focus on improving the stability of unmarried couples through education and policies that promote marriage.
In 1980 there were one million single parents, but this has now doubled, he said. “Something has gone badly wrong in the intervening years and no government has got to grips with the problem.”
Gavin Poole, the executive director of the CSJ, said “it is well known that children from broken homes do less well at school and are more likely to turn to drugs, alcohol and crime.”
- 50pc Brit parents split up before their children turn 16 - Dec 07, 2010
- Half of Brit kids 'see parents divorce before they reach 16' - Apr 18, 2011
- Childbirths outside wedlock in Britain at its highest in 200 years - Apr 19, 2011
- Married couples less likely to split up than cohabiting pairs - Mar 26, 2010
- Brits falling out of love with matrimony - Feb 12, 2010
- Nonstandard work schedules harmful for cohabiting parents - Nov 12, 2010
- Kids from broken homes '9 times more likely to commit crimes' - Nov 04, 2010
- One-third of babies born to unwed mothers in Australia - Jul 06, 2010
- Britain is a nation of happy couples - Feb 15, 2011
- Marriage 'doesn't stabilize relationships' - Jul 07, 2010
- No kids 'the secret to marital bliss' - Mar 01, 2011
- No money, no marriage - a new trend? - Nov 27, 2010
- One-third of Oz babies born out of wedlock - Jul 06, 2010
- Kids lose touch with one parent after divorce - Jan 25, 2012
- Britain will need 2 mn new homes for immigrants - Nov 27, 2010
Tags: bristol community, broken homes, crimes committed by children, education charity, family trust, harry benson, having children, iain duncan smith, mid 1980s, millennium cohort study, national statistics, one million, parental separation, poole, relationship education, single parents, social justice, unmarried couples, unwed parents, work and pensions