Unmarried with Children

10/16/2003

"If you have knowledge, let others light their candles by it." - Anonymous

UNMARRIED WITH CHILDREN

An emerging household arrangement in the USA is getting the attention of demographers—unmarried opposite-sex adults living together with young children. According to the US Census Bureau ("Current Population Survey", March 2002) . . .

* 2.9 million children under age 18 (about 4% of all children under age 18) live with a parent and his or her unmarried partner;

* 62% of these children live with mom and her partner; 38% with their dad and his partner;

* In 2002, 4.9 million households included a head of household living with an unmarried partner of the opposite sex; 600,000 households included same-sex partners;

* About 50% of all marriages today involve couples who have lived together first.

Researchers interviewed for a USA Today story (September 18, 2003), "Unmarried with children: For better or worse?" added these observations . . .

* One in nine babies now born in the USA is to an unmarried cohabitating couple;

* If cohabitating couples go on to marry, within five years, more than 50% will separate, compared with about 20% of married couples.

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