The New York Times in "For Women Under 30, Most Births Occur Outside Marriage" reports that 41 percent of children are now born outside of marriage and that number rises to 53 percent for children born to women under thirty.
As for why this trend is occurring, two arguments persist. One is that shrinking paychecks have reduced the number of marrieagable men. The other is that the sexual revolution has actually discouraged marriage—there is less of a stigma around unwed mothers than ever before and some women even say that combining their income with another person would take away their ability to acquire food stamps and child care.
The piece does suggest it is a socioeconomic issue, revealing that 92 percent of college graduates still marry before having children.
Is single motherhood the new normal, and what do you think about the trend?
I'm surprised that the
I'm surprised that the percentage of marriage is so high for college graduates. I know many college educated moms who have never been married. It is sad that it is so much lower for non college grads.