parents and children

Childbearing

• 47% of children are now born outside marriage, often to cohabiting parents.

• Average age at first birth rose from 24.1 in 1971 to 28.1 in 2012.

• Women are having fewer children: average fell from 2.95 (1964) to 1.63 (2001), rising slightly to 1.94 (2010).

• A quarter of women born in 1973 are predicted to remain childless by age 45.

Reasons for the Changes in Childbearing

• Decline in stigma around births outside marriage and rise in cohabitation.

• Only 28% of 25–34 year olds believe marriage should precede parenthood.

• Later childbearing, smaller families, and increased childlessness reflect women’s broader life choices.

• Career priorities often come before motherhood.

Lone-Parent Families

• Lone-parent families make up 22% of all families with children.

• One in four children lives in a lone-parent household.

• Over 90% of lone-parent families are headed by women.

• Initially dominated by divorced mothers; since the 1990s, never-married mothers are the largest group.

• Children in lone-parent families are twice as likely to live in poverty.

Reasons for the Changes in Lone-Parent Families

• Increase in divorce and separation.

• Rise in births to never-married women.

Why Lone-Parent Families Tend to Be Female-Headed

• Beliefs that women are naturally suited to childcare.

• Custody laws favour mothers.

• Men may be less willing or able to give up work.

• Renzovize (1985): professional women may choose single motherhood.

• Cashmore (1985): some working-class mothers prefer being on their own.

Lone Parenthood, the Welfare State and Poverty

• New Right thinker Murray: welfare creates a ‘dependency culture’ and encourages lone parenthood.

• Critics argue poverty is due to:

  • Lack of affordable childcare.

  • Inadequate welfare benefits.

  • Gender pay gap — most lone parents are women.

  • Fathers failing to pay maintenance.

Stepfamilies

• Over 10% of families with dependent children are stepfamilies.

• 85% of stepfamilies include children from the woman’s previous relationship.

• 11% include children from the man’s previous relationship.

• 4% include children from both partners’ previous relationships.

• Ferri and Smith (1998): stepfamilies resemble first families and stepparents are positively involved.

• However, stepfamilies are more at risk of poverty.

• Allan and Crow (2001): divided loyalties and contact with non-resident parents can cause tension.

• McCarthy et al (2003): stepfamilies are diverse — some face tensions, others do not.

Reasons for the Changes in Stepfamilies

• Stepfamilies form when lone parents re-partner — often due to divorce or separation.

• Children usually stay with their mother after breakups, explaining maternal dominance in stepfamily structures.

• Stepfamilies may face poverty due to larger household sizes and financial obligations to children from previous relationships.

• Tensions may arise from unclear social norms about roles in stepfamilies.

Living Apart Together (LATS)

• Duncan and Phillips (2013): 1 in 10 adults are in a LAT relationship — not married or cohabiting.

• Half of those officially classified as single are actually in LATs.

• LATs reflect a move toward less formalised relationships and ‘families of choice’.

• Reasons include financial constraints, desire for independence, past relationship trauma, or early-stage relationships.

• Public attitudes are positive:

  • Majority believe couples don’t need to live together for a strong relationship.

  • 20% see LATs as their ideal relationship — more than those who prefer cohabitation.

• LATs are no longer seen as abnormal and don’t necessarily reject traditional relationships.