Wow jp, you have a really cynical view of the traditional family. Kind of a shame really, but to each his/her own. FWIW, you may have mixed feelings about the 2 parent thing, but the data does not. It is very clear from the child psychiatry literature that children do best when raised in a caring 2 parent household (notice, I don’t distinguish gender, children can be raised quite successfully in a 2 parent same-sex environment). From my experiences working at inpatient child psych wards, virtually ALL of those kids come from dysfunctional families, the majority single parent. Typically it’s a single mother who exposes the children to multiple boyfriends. That is not to say that a single parent cannot raise a healthy child, it just makes it much more difficult to do. Anyone who has come from a broken home, especially if the home dissolved when the child is very young, has a much greater chance of having an unsuccessful marriage themselves, and unfortunately there is little they can do about it. It’s as if the lesson is learned very early that the best course of action when a marriage is in trouble is to give up.
Why does this stuff matter? I personally believe the majority of societal ills can be traced to the erosion of the American family. You’re simply much less likely to do drugs, commit a violent crime, drop out of school, etc. if you come from a stable family. Back in th 90’s the term “Family Values” became an anti-Republican buzzword, and I think that’s very unfortunate.
So jp, I must respectfully disagree, men are far more important than their sperm. I do agree that some men are made to be married and others aren’t, and I feel a little sorry for those in the latter group, as I am definitely in the former. My recent experience with parenthood is teaching me that I wouldn’t have missed this for the world, stress and all. And sorry Marion, I don’t know a good divorce lawyer,I hope to never need one.
