Only two-thirds of British children live with both parents

[rover 623gsi]

King Herald said:

The UK has nearly twice as many single parent families under age 21 than any other country in Europe.

That will probably contribute to the problem, as I don't see 'dad' moving back in once mum gets a bit older.

Just over a quarter (26 per cent) of households with dependent children are single parent families, and there are 2 million single parents in Britain today. This figure has remained consistent since the mid-1990’s

Less than 2 per cent of single parents are teenagers

The median age of single parents is 38.1

Around half of single parents had their children within marriage – 49 per cent are separated from marriage, divorced or widowed

59.2 per cent of single parents are in work, up 14.5 percentage points since 1997

The employment rate for single parents varies depending on the age of their youngest child. Once their children are 12 or over, single parents’ employment rate is similar to, or higher than, the employment rate for mothers in couples (71 per cent of single parents whose child is 11-15 are in work)

http://www.gingerbread.org.uk/content.aspx?Categor...

[sugerbear]

chris watton said:

sugerbear said:

Fittster said:

Shocking as it's known that a stable family is one of the keys to a child's success.

A tiny insignifiant factor in a childs success. Living in a st part of town, going to a st school, your parents being poor, your parents being alcoholics/drug addicts are the most important factors.

Plenty of middle/upper class fathers/mothers split up but their children go on to have successful lives. Some people even send their children to boarding school, but you dont see them in prison when they are older.

Blaming social problems on children not *living* with both parents is very blinkered.

From strictly personal experience, 'poor parents' (as in not a lot of money) makes no difference to a childs success or otherwise - or at least, it never used to. Basic morals and being taught the difference between right and wrong ar a lot more important, IMOHO.

Yes, add poor parenting to that list which can just as easily come from both parents than just one. I was trying to across that just because children live with both parents doesn't mean they will or wont be a success. I have seen plenty of problem children coming from homes where mum and dad live together.

[sugerbear]

Barak Obama. Parents divorced and his father returned to Kenya.

Look how dreadful his life turned out.

[Sticks.]

chris watton said:

From strictly personal experience, 'poor parents' (as in not a lot of money) makes no difference to a childs success or otherwise - or at least, it never used to. Basic morals and being taught the difference between right and wrong ar a lot more important, IMOHO.

That may be your personal experience, and I don't doubt it. But I remember reading a report some years back which showed the differences in educational and developmental outcomes between average and above, and poor familes were measurable from age 22 months.