Originally published July 26, 2023 6:00 pm PDT
A new study from the Marriage Foundation found that nearly half of children over the age of 14 in Britain are no longer living with both of their parents.
QUICK FACTS:
- A study conducted by the Marriage Foundation suggests that nearly half of children are not living with both of their biological parents by the time they turn 14-years-old.
- The research examined a dataset of 4,476 first-born children in England conducted by the Millennium Cohort Study and compared the sample to represent the national population.
- From those studied, 46% of children were determined to no longer be living with their family unit early into their teenage years.
- The Foundation found that 70% of those cases were the result of non-married parents splitting up and 30% were from families of married couples.
- “This is why couples who have tied the knot tend to be more stable and more likely to weather the challenges that life throws at them, why marriage accounts for lower levels of family breakdown than other less stable forms of relationship,” Harry Benson, Research Director of the Marriage Foundation, said.
- Benson added that “marriage provides relationship clarity, and encourages good things like sacrifice and forgiveness.”
CHILDREN’S COMMISSIONER FOUNDER SIR PAUL COLERIDGE ON MARRIAGE BEING A FUNDAMENTAL ASPECT OF A SUCCESSFUL FAMILY UNIT:
“Every experienced parent knows that if adolescents are to successfully navigate the scary teenage years they need a secure and a stable family environment,” Coleridge said. “If you want to experience the rich rewards of fully enjoying your children, marrying the other parent is a crucial first step.”
BACKGROUND:
- In October 2022, The National Health Service (NHS) of England suggested that most children becoming transgender in the country were going through a “phase.”
- The agency released a guidance at the time for children who believed themselves to be transgender, saying there can be “an inappropriate gender transition” due to a “transient phase.”
- The guidance implored medical professionals to assess gender transitions for children and should be considered a “last resort.”
- “The clinical approach has to be mindful of the risks of an inappropriate gender transition and the difficulties that the child may experience in returning to the original gender role upon entering puberty if the gender incongruence does not persist into adolescence,” the guidance says, as quoted by the media outlet.
- The guidance, according to the newspaper, was released as part of the NHS’ plan to close the controversial Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust’s clinic – the only children’s gender identity clinic in the UK.
- The draft advice emphasized that “social transitioning” should not be viewed as a “neutral act” because it might have serious implications for a child’s psychology.
- “Social transition should only be considered where the approach is necessary for the alleviation of, or prevention of, clinically significant distress or significant impairment in social functioning and the young person is able to fully comprehend the implications of affirming a social transition,” the guidance reportedly said.
