The number of children who were living with only one of their biological parents from 1900 to 1972 increased by 700%. Can we call this beneficial on the child's maturing and mental stability and development? Between 1970 and 1996, the proportion of children under 18 living with only one of their parents grew from 12% to 28%. While the percentage of children living with both parents declined from 85% to 68%. As this century has passed, more and more divorces are taking place at an increased rate each year, and while it may be hard on the parents, it is detrimental to so many children. It confuses them, upsets them, and leaves them questioning many things, most of which they will never find out until they are older. From 1950 to 1980, there has been a total of 175% increase in divorces.
The statistics now indicate, that half of all children will witness the breakup of a parent’s marriage, of these close to half of them will go on to see the break up of a parents second marriage that is indicating a 25% increase each year! The latest figures released show that overall, between 1970 and 1996 the number of divorced people has more than quadrupled. 10% of these children that witness this first divorce will go on to witness three or more family breakups.
I am here to give my thoughts and opinions on the issue of now in this 20th century; the increased rate of children developing mentally without a fatherly figure in the family is harming the children's development.
Tim Rotheisler commented on the recent increases in break ups and the effects it has on children. "Since the introduction of "no-fault divorce" in Canada 30 years ago, the rate of marital break-up has soared 600%. A third of marriages fail, and over a third of those break-ups involve children. One-fifth of Canadian children have lost a parent to divorce, with an effect that some sociologists now say can be "worse than a parent's death." Divorce is consistently associated with juvenile emotional...