In England and Wales, the traditional family model is disintegrating, with research indicating that nearly half of children now grow up outside of traditional two-parent homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dame Rachel de Souza, England’s Children’s Commissioner, has published preliminary findings from her Family Review, revealing that “44% of children born at the turn of the century were not raised in a nuclear family for their entire childhood, compared to 21% of children born in 1970.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the review’s estimates, the nuclear family breakdown is more pronounced in some demographics than others, with Black Caribbean families being by far the most likely to be single-parent arrangements at 57%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Families classified as ‘Asian’ appear to have the lowest rate of single parenthood, with Bangladeshis at 10%, Indians at 11%, Chinese at 18%, Pakistanis at 19%, and ‘Other’ Asian families at 17%. Co-habiting, as opposed to marriage or civil partnership, is also very low among Asian groups, with rates of no more than 3%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
White families appear to be in the middle, with single parenthood highest in the White British category at 22%, slightly lower in the White Irish category at 20% and lowest among ‘Other’ whites at 17%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, England and Wales have one of Europe’s highest rates of single parenthood, trailing only Denmark and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dame Rachel’s statement on the findings also mentions how families have shrunk dramatically in the modern era, with 42% having only one child, 42% having two children, and only 15% having three or more children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, as with single parenthood, the figures are inconsistent across demographics, with the “share of families with three or more children [varying] from 14% in White British families to 41% in Pakistani families and 38% in Bangladeshi families.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is estimated that 80,000 children are in state care, with “many more in less formal arrangements, including kinship care.”<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In England and Wales, the traditional family model is disintegrating, with research indicating that nearly half of children now grow up outside of traditional two-parent homes. Dame Rachel de Souza, … <\/p>\n