Contrary to expectations, it has turned out that children don’t provide the glue to keep cohabiting parents together. Marriage – often dismissed as just a piece of paper – does make a difference.
This year, the ”Knot Yet” report on changing marriage patterns, by the Washington-based Brookings Institution, examined why this was so and suggested the answer may lie in the decision-making process.
Most people marry after a process of discovering mutual commitment to long-term goals. That’s often lacking in cohabiting relationships where couples move in together sometimes because a lease runs out, or they are seeking cheaper rent, or it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Families that evolve from these non-decisions are, unsurprisingly, far less stable.
Read it all.
(SMH) Bettina Arndt–The unspoken truth about marriage and kids
Contrary to expectations, it has turned out that children don’t provide the glue to keep cohabiting parents together. Marriage – often dismissed as just a piece of paper – does make a difference.
This year, the ”Knot Yet” report on changing marriage patterns, by the Washington-based Brookings Institution, examined why this was so and suggested the answer may lie in the decision-making process.
Most people marry after a process of discovering mutual commitment to long-term goals. That’s often lacking in cohabiting relationships where couples move in together sometimes because a lease runs out, or they are seeking cheaper rent, or it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Families that evolve from these non-decisions are, unsurprisingly, far less stable.
Read it all.