Childbearing
The structure of American family life is evolving, broadening the range of family experiences. One of the biggest increases is the rise in the proportion of children born to unmarried parents (Dickson, 2010). Those who become single parents include young individuals who are not ready or willing to get married, older single women who use sperm donation or adoption, and divorcees who haven’t found new spouses.
Different racial and ethnic groups have different patterns of childbearing. Caucasian, Asian, and American Indian women have the fewest children overall, while Latina women and African American women have the greatest total fertility rates. Another recurring tendency is that women with lower levels of education tend to have more children than women with higher levels of education. Financial circumstances might affect decisions about having children as well.
Adoption
Over the past fifty years, adoption has become significantly less popular, in part because fewer newborns are being given up by their biological parents. Young women who are not married are now more eager and capable of raising their own children because the stigma attached to being an unwed mother has diminished. Fertility therapies are becoming more readily accessible, and there are more options for birth control and abortion.
Although adoption is no longer stigmatized, the majority of infertile couples choose not to adopt. Nonetheless, despite having relatively high levels of financial resources, research reveals that adoptive parents devote extraordinarily significant amounts of time and money to the welfare of their offspring. Children adopted through private agencies are more likely to have contact with their birth parents, and adoption has grown much more open as a result.
Why (Not) Have Children?
Having children can be viewed as a sign of adulthood and social duty. There are certain societal pressures and expectations that come with motherhood, including the emphasis on the nuclear family as the ideal unit of social structure. Among the many possible influences, some specific elements can be identified that may affect the choice of whether to have children, such as financial security, professional objectives, and personal beliefs.
Infertile couples experience difficulties when trying to conceive a child. Medical progress has given infertility-stricken couples a wide range of alternatives. In addition, having no children is a greater and more popular choice among Americans for a variety of personal and cultural reasons. Despite the fact that having children is still a highly regarded societal position, choosing not to have children is gaining popularity and respect.
Children’s Living Arrangements
Children now have a wider variety of living situations due to changes in marriage and family structure over time. African American children have witnessed a considerably faster move toward single-mother homes, which, on average, have much lower incomes and resources than two-parent families, demonstrating inequality. This is the effect of broader social shifts including the shift to a service economy and the poorer economic prospects for less educated males.
For an increasing number of children, growing up in a grandparent’s house is considered to be a normal experience. Given that this practice is more prevalent in difficult economic times and among low-income and immigrant households, the trend of children living with grandparents reflects this reality. Many families are gravitating toward this choice as the number of single mothers rises, especially among the young and low-income demographic.
Parenting
The rise in unmarried parenthood and divorce rates has led to an increase in single-parent homes, and single mothers frequently experience more financial hardship than single fathers. Co-parenting options, such as shared parenting or joint custody, can be advantageous for both parents and kids. There is also a noticeable rise in children having same-sex parents as a result of gay and lesbian couples being allowed to marry.
Research shows the benefits of parental involvement with their children. In particular, the involved father ideal has become a big part of American culture. The chapter points out that fathers are spending more time each day engaging in developmental activities, such as reading to children, assisting them with their homework, or going to educational events, and that they are crucial to their children’s emotional growth.
Trend to Watch: Assisted Reproductive Technology
Assisted reproductive technology (ART) involves fertilizing eggs that have been surgically removed from a woman’s ovaries with sperm and then transferring the fertilized eggs to the woman to begin a pregnancy. At least four instances exist where ART has increased modern people’s fertility possibilities. First, it has made it possible for parents who are older to have kids, with more and more women having babies after the age of 44.
Second, it has facilitated a variety of family structures, such as sperm-donor embryos, surrogate parenthood, and same-sex couple parenting. Third, ART has made it possible for people to become parents who might not have otherwise been able to do so due to health issues. Finally, it enables genetic selection or manipulation of sperm, eggs, or embryos to result in a child with the features the parents like.
Reference
Dickson, D. T. (2010). Law in the health and human services. Free Press.