Some Hard Truths - Single Mothers

New statistics are out on single mothers.  It seems that the vast majority of them are not teenagers as many would have you believe.  In general the rate is 40%, higher in black and Hispanic communities.  Almost three quarters of single mothers fall into the age range of 18-29. 

What these numbers are really telling us is that marriage is no longer the norm in our country.  We are on the march of making the family unit irrelevant in this country.  Which is a truly alarming.  When babies are born to single mothers they are far more likely to live below the poverty line and usually will be in need for public assistance.  Not only is this a drain on our limited resources it also is damaging to the child. Children living  near or below the poverty line are far less likely to do well in school or attend college.  Both of which will only continue the cycle of poverty. 

The report also finds that young women who become pregnant out of wedlock are not doing it due to the lack of access to birth control.  The pregnancies are planned.  Sadly, in lower income neighborhoods marriage has become virtually obsolete.  This is a disturbing trend that is only increases as time goes by. 

The more we dismiss the meaning of marriage the more our children suffer.  While it is true that sometimes even with your best efforts marriage just doesn't work out for two people.  But, many are just forgoing the entire institution from the get-go.  In many cases when a woman has a child out of wedlock the father is not involved in the raising of the child.  Again, this is another reason that children will live below the poverty line. 

The government spends a small fortune giving money to Planned Parenthood.  By law that money is supposed to be used for health exams and to subsidize birth control for woman in lower income brackets.  It seems that is a waste of tax payer dollars as the women are not attempting to stop pregnancy.  Yet, with the numbers of single mothers the government does what it always does and throws more money at the problem without really examining what the problem is. 

What we need to do is start promoting marriage and the family unit in this country.  The numbers speak for themselves.  Children who grow up in a two parent family are more likely to graduate from high school and go onto to college and not depend on public resources.  Family time is very important to children; the simple act of eating together as a family at least twice a week shows to improve the academic performance of that child. 

But the promotion of traditional family values has become almost a taboo in our ever increasing politically correct society.  We keep asking the question of what constitutes a family instead of promoting the values and virtues that the traditional family offers to young children.  Of course love is one of the most important things you give to child, but most children are looking for love from both parents, not just the single mom.  I am not saying that single moms can't do a good job raising her children, because many certainly do. 

But why are we not talking about virtues of marriage in lower income areas?  This is something that Bill Cosby brought up some years back and in return he was attacked for it.  Far too many in lower income black and Hispanic communities have turned their back on marriage all together and the children are paying the steepest price.  The poverty levels become institutionalized, education is looked on as something that someone else gets, and the crime rates continue to climb as drug dealing and gangs look like the only way out of the life they were born into. 

One of the best things that you can give your children is stable home that is filled with love.  The traditional family may not be the only way to provide that, but it certainly helps. 


H/T to The Other McCain

Cross posted at Potluck