childbearing Flashcards
Childbearing:
-47% of all children are now born outside marriage. However, all these births are jointly registered by both parents, in most cases the parents are co-habiting.
-women are having children later.
-women are having fewer children that in the 20th century.
-more women are remaining childless.
Childbearing reasons:
-decline in stigma.
-women now have more options than just motherhood. Many are seeking to establish themselves in a career before starting a family, or instead of having children at all.
Lone-parent families:
-lone parent families now make up 22% of all families with children. One child in four lives in a lone parent family.
-over 90% of these families are headed by lone parent mothers.
-until the early 1990s, divorced women were the biggest group of lone mothers.
-a child living with a one parent is twice as likely to be in poverty as a child living with two parents.
Lone parent families reasons:
-increase in divorce and separation
-increase in the number of never-married women having children..
-decline in stigma attached to births outside of marriage.
-lone parents tend to be female headed:
*belief that women are by nature suited to an ‘expressive’ pr nurturing role.
*divorce courts usually give custody of children to mothers.
*men may be less willing than women to give up work to care for their child.
-single by choice- may not want to cohabit or Mary, or wish to limit fathers involvement.
-feminist ideas.
What is the New Right opinion on lone parent families?
-New right thinker Charles Murray sees the growth of lone parent families are resulting from an over-generous welfare state providing benefits.
-‘perverse incentive’
-‘dependency culture’
-solution is to abolish welfare benefits to reduce dependent culture.
What do critics of the New Rights view on welfare benefits think?
-critics views state welfare benefits are far from generous and are much more likely to be in poverty:
*lack of affordable childcare.
*inadequate welfare benefits.
*women usually earn less than men.
*failure of fathers to pay maintenance.
Step families:
-stepfamilies account for 10% of all families with dependent children in Britain.
-in 85% of stepfamilies at least one child is from the women previous relationship, 11% Oatlesdt one child from the mans previous relationship, and 4% children from both partners previous relationships.
-majority of involvement of stepparents in childcare and childbearing is a positive one- (Elsa Ferri and Kate Smith (1998)).
-greater risk of poverty.
-contact with the non-resident parent can cause tension- (Graham Allan and Graham Crow (2001)).
Step families reasons:
-divorce and separation.
-children are more likely to end up with their mothers.
-stepparents at greater risk of poverty because there are more children and stepparent my also have to support child from previous relationship.
-lack of clear social norms about how individuals should behave in such families.
