tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post114056182929382727..comments2024-03-04T17:54:32.559+00:00Comments on Iain Dale's Diary: 42% of Kids Born Outside WedlockIain Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-1140726281221448432006-02-23T20:24:00.000+00:002006-02-23T20:24:00.000+00:00Iain,How ridiculous! 'Surely no child would actua...Iain,<BR/><BR/>How ridiculous! <BR/><BR/>'Surely no child would actually choose to have one parent' - how do you know?<BR/><BR/>'I;m sure most single parents would like prefer not to bring up a child on their own.' What is your evidence?<BR/><BR/>'the preferable state of affairs is for a child to have a mother and father.' Who's preferred state?<BR/><BR/>As Mrs Merton might say, you've set off a heated debate!HowRidiculoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14798294677380358089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-1140725189341095192006-02-23T20:06:00.000+00:002006-02-23T20:06:00.000+00:00How ridiculous, I see you're living up to your nam...How ridiculous, I see you're living up to your name. Of course two parents are better than one. Surely no child would actually choose to have one parent. I'm not saying single parents are bad parents. I;m sure most single parents would like prefer not to bring up a child on their own.<BR/><BR/>Ian, I think the preferable state of affairs is for a child to have a mother and father. That's not to say that two people of the same gender are not going to be good parents. I am all in favour of gay adoption, but I would still give preference to couples of different genders.Iain Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-1140724810637776912006-02-23T20:00:00.000+00:002006-02-23T20:00:00.000+00:00Re. comments about the anonymous comments, it is t...Re. comments about the anonymous comments, it is to be hoped that single parenthood is a good thing - certainly for those who have become single parents as a result of the war in Iraq.<BR/><BR/>More generally, where is the proof - rather than the arguments and the belief - that having two parent (even of the opposite sex) families is better than having only one?HowRidiculoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14798294677380358089noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-1140720007812829292006-02-23T18:40:00.000+00:002006-02-23T18:40:00.000+00:00So do you think those parents should be of differe...So do you think those parents should be of different genders?ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13462118851964861754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-1140650329672294142006-02-22T23:18:00.000+00:002006-02-22T23:18:00.000+00:00Anonymous said... Why cannot single parenthood be ...<I> Anonymous said... <BR/>Why cannot single parenthood be a good thing? </I><BR/><BR/>The same reason why having a single arm or a single leg is not a good thing.<BR/><BR/>It may not necessarily be a bad thing, it might even work, but there is an obviously better and more effficient situation right round the corner, which should be promoted where possible.<BR/><BR/>All the arguments I've heard against living with two parents instead of one (abuse, a bad role model, etc) could just as easily be applied to a one-parent situation.<BR/><BR/>I am yet to hear an argument where a single-parent family offers some benefit that a two-parent family doesn't.Biodunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16683085652044953165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-1140622366379804162006-02-22T15:32:00.000+00:002006-02-22T15:32:00.000+00:00Why cannot single parenthood be a good thing?Why cannot single parenthood be a good thing?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-1140609142341102202006-02-22T11:52:00.000+00:002006-02-22T11:52:00.000+00:00anonymous, you are absolutely right in what you sa...anonymous, you are absolutely right in what you say in your first para. I am as I type this slapping my own wrists. A vision to be sure... I may have given a slightly wrong impression here, but it doesn't alter the basic point, which is that the trend of single parenthood is on an inexhorable rise, which cannot be a good thing, whatever your political stance may be.Iain Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-1140608440068283192006-02-22T11:40:00.000+00:002006-02-22T11:40:00.000+00:00Careful with your stats now! You have to distingui...Careful with your stats now! <BR/><BR/>You have to distinguish being born out of wedlock to being part of a single parent family - they are completely different and you have conflated them.<BR/><BR/>A very large proportion of those in single parent families were born to married parents who subsequently separated. A very large proportion of those born to unmarried parents are not in single parent families (their parents just aren't married) - indeed I believe Tunbridge Wells has or used to have the highest rate of children born out of wedlock in the UK but don't have a very high rate of single parent families.<BR/><BR/>I tend to think one major factor in this is simply that a lot of parents simply cohabit today. The stigma attached to children of cohabiting parents withered away some time ago. Women are also less keen to marry to provide legal protection and financial security because many more are economically independent and so don't need it as an insurance policy as used to be the case. The decline in church-going also plays a part. None of these are wholly bad developments and most are generally positive.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-1140607775744948902006-02-22T11:29:00.000+00:002006-02-22T11:29:00.000+00:00anonymous, where have I attacked single mothers? S...anonymous, where have I attacked single mothers? Saying that it is a problem that many kids have no male influence in their lives is not an attack on single mothers. Grow up.Iain Dalehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03270146219458384372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-1140607378616932652006-02-22T11:22:00.000+00:002006-02-22T11:22:00.000+00:00Tory attacks single mothers shock!Tory attacks single mothers shock!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6214838.post-1140562699349411512006-02-21T22:58:00.000+00:002006-02-21T22:58:00.000+00:00From the graph, it seems to me that the rate of in...From the graph, it seems to me that the rate of increase (gradient) has decreased since 1990, while leaping massively in the 1980s. Added to that the unavoidable conclusion that teenagers (the bulk of youth offenders, surely?) now would have been born between 1986 and 1993, then it seems to me we should be asking whether the thatcher government was to blame?ianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13462118851964861754noreply@blogger.com