families and children

Question 1

statistics about american childbearing

Answer 1

• most families have 1-3 kids
• in 2021, 40% born to unmarried parents
• 1/2 of women not married have first kid when cohabitating
• many children are involved with more than 2 parents
• there are more adults spending much of their lives without children

Question 2

different ways people become single parents

Answer 2

• young adults having children either alone or not ready for commitment
• older women who are single decide to have children
• divorced people who aren’t remarried

Question 3

fertility

Answer 3

the number of children born in a society or among a particular group

Question 4

total fertility rate

Answer 4

the number of children born to the average woman in her lifetime

Question 5

what total fertility rate does a country have to have to usually grow?

Answer 5

more than 2.1 or so

Question 6

reasons for high fertility rates among latinos

Answer 6

• descended from relatively recent immigrants who come from countries with higher fertility rates
• common for groups typically with lower levels of education
• the immigrant population includes many young, healthy adults

Question 7

women with … education have … children

Answer 7

less, more
- some women stop education after they have children or postpone childbearing
- women with more education risk giving up higher incomes and career status (opportunity cost)

Question 8

opportunity cost

Answer 8

the price one pays for choosing the less lucrative of the available options

Question 9

adoption in three categories

Answer 9

private: 43%, mostly infants
public: 55%, average age 6
international adoptions: now just 2%

Question 10

1973, roe v wade

Answer 10

right to abortion as a privacy matter

Question 11

2022, dobbs v jackson

Answer 11

states can ban abortion (first time USA withdrew a constitutional right)

Question 12

how many abortions were performed in the US in 2020? what trimester?

Answer 12

~900,000, 92% in the first trimester

Question 13

policy as of october 2024

Answer 13

illegal in 13 states, banned 6-15 weeks in 7 states, protections in others

Question 14

infertility

Answer 14

the failure of a couple to have a successful pregnancy despite deliberately having sex without contraception

Question 15

potential causes of infertility

Answer 15

age, overall health, smoking, obesity, history of STIs

Question 16

what percentage of american adults live without children? what is their demographic?

Answer 16

15%; women with higher education and professional careers

Question 17

what are the three major changes in children’s living arrangements?

Answer 17

more diversity, inequality, social change increasing cultural acceptance

Question 18

family transitions include:

Answer 18

• relationships with adults changing or ending
• new parenting standards and practices
• complex relationships with other children
• economic components of struggles

Question 19

parenting

Answer 19

the activity of raising a child

Question 20

parents provide three kinds of skills and resources to their children

Answer 20

socialization, social bonds, social networks

Question 21

newfound meaning of childhood

Answer 21

children have become fewer and more precious; more emotional value than economic

Question 22

consumer culture

Answer 22

consumer culture sells parenting advice and seemingly infinite opportunities to buy a perfect childhood

Question 23

intensive motherhood

Answer 23

cultural pressure on women to devote more time, energy, and money to raising their children

Question 24

snowplow parenting

Answer 24

for some high-income parents; clearing any obstacles in their child’s path to success

Question 25

common beneficial aspects of parenting

Answer 25

supportiveness, monitoring, discipline (when healthy)

Question 26

in 2022, how many children were estimated to live with same-sex parents

Answer 26

360,000

Question 27

male provider ideal

Answer 27

the father as an economic provider and authority figure for his children

Question 28

involved father ideal

Answer 28

the father as an emotional nurturing companion who bonds with his children as well as providing for them

Question 29

what is “the anxious generation”

Answer 29

decline in play-based childhood, rise of phone0based childhood

Question 30

how much could parents of a typical family with two children expect to spend?

Answer 30

between $175,000 and $370,000 to raise each child up to age 17, depending
on how rich the family is