CHILDREN OF SINGLE PARENTS

January 2001

Six years ago, Statistics Canada initiated the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth, by interviewing the parents of approximately 23,000 children up to the age of 11. By repeating these interviews every two years, the study aims to measure the impact of various factors on the development of these children as they mature into adults.

What was found in the first years of this survey? While the great majority of children were developing well, the survey reports, "Children in single-parent families, regardless of income, were more likely to exhibit behavioural and relationship problems. Children in these families were almost twice as likely to exhibit a behavioural problem as those in two-parent families in similar income situations."

While most children who grow up without the care and guidance of their natural father do well, for too many others the results are disastrous. In his book, Life Without Father: Compelling New Evidence That Fatherhood And Marriage Are Indispensable For The Good Of Children And Society, David Popenoe reports that, "Sixty per cent of America's rapists, 72 per cent of adolescent murderers and 70 per cent of long-term prison inmates come from fatherless homes."

If only out of concern for the safety and well-being of children, all Canadians should be alarmed over the declining state of the traditional family. Currently, close to 30 per cent of Canadian children are born out of wedlock.

By age 10, 63 per cent of Canadian children from common-law unions have experienced a family breakdown. For the children of married parents who never lived common law, the corresponding percentage is less than 14 per cent.