Its Really all about our Children

There have been many newspaper and magazine articles about the latest marriage research released by Pew Research and The National Marriage Project.  Both show that we are seeing a serious decline in marriage and a huge increase in the number of children born out of wedlock in lower and middle class America.  While some may espouse "To each his own" when it comes to whether people choose to marry or have a child out of wedlock, these choices will seriously impact you, me and everybody else over time.
 
The consequences for children growing up in homes without their two married parents are enormous.  Before you hit the comment button, hear me out.  I am not against single parents.  I AM for what is best for children and what we know based on decades of research is children who grow up in a home with their two married parents do better in every area of life.

If you are thinking not my problem,  this doesn't impact you because you have an intact marriage, think again.  Believing that what other people do behind closed doors doesn't impact anybody else is like living with your head in the sand.  We are all impacted on a daily basis by the decisions people make for example, if your child is friends with someone whose parents divorce or your child decides she wants to date a boy who has grown up without a father figure what does this mean for your child?  Chances are you are going to be answering questions about divorce and wondering if this young man has any idea how to treat your daughter since he may never have had a healthy male role model in his life.

There are many other examples I could give you about how this problem impacts you in every area of life including your bank account.

This is why the work of First Things First is critical.  People of every walk of life need to understand that marriage and childbearing go hand in hand.  If you are concerned about child well-being we need you to be part of the army of people who are willing to talk about the importance of healthy marriage and its connection to raising healthy children.