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Stable Marriage Improves Lives of Children
Stable marriage can increase the financial prosperity of couples
and improves the lives of children, including those being raised
by same-sex couples, according to a recent report released.
The report by the Brookings Institution and Princeton University
showed that while the poor see lack of money as a barrier to marriage,
even when they have children out of wedlock, healthy marriage
actually ensures them healthier finances in the long run.
"The decline in two-parent families since 1960 has been closely
linked with a rise in child poverty, primarily because poverty
rates are far higher in single-mother families than in two-parent
families," according to the report.
The proportion of single-parent families doubled to 26 percent
in 2003 from 12 percent in 1970, according to the report, "The
Future of Children," a series of articles on marriage and children.
Children already being raised by same-sex couples can also benefit
when those couples marry, the study suggested.
"First, marriage may increase children's material well-being
through such benefits as family leave from work and spousal health
insurance eligibility," the report said. "Second, same-sex marriage
may benefit children by increasing the durability and stability
of their parents' relationship."
The report comes as the Bush administration proposes some $1.5
billion in spending over the next five years on marriage programs
and as the debate over same-sex marriage hits a fever pitch.
The study stressed the need for educational initiatives that
could help with relationships and parenting, saying this can help
reduce divorce, domestic violence and single-parent child rearing.
At a forum on the report, panelists urged the Bush administration
and Congress to direct more funding toward job growth for the
poor and minorities.
"Men without jobs do not form families," said Eleanor Holmes
Norton, the Washington, D.C., delegate to the House of Representatives.
