Practical Ministry

I am continuing to discuss the Barbara Dafoe Whitehead/David Popenoe report entitled The State of Our Unions, The Social Health of Marriage in America 2006, Essay: Life Without Children. I make this particular post because I find the report's observations on women and childlessness to be interesting and provocative. I'm not entirely sure what to make of them. The report notes, "most women still want to have at least one child and, ideally, two. In fact, 68 percent of Gen X women today are likely to say that having a child is an experience every woman should have compared to just 45 percent … [Read more...] about Women and Childlessness

I am continuing to discuss the Barbara Dafoe Whitehead/David Popenoe report entitled The State of Our Unions, The Social Health of Marriage in America 2006, Essay: Life Without Children. I want to highlight some of the report's findings on the economic factors of the childless trend, and the market forces that support it (perhaps unwittingly, though I think sometimes consciously): 1. Childless young adults are exceedingly well suited to life and work in a dynamic society and global economy. They display great facility and comfort with new technologies. Their youthful penchant for … [Read more...] about Economic Ramifications of Childlessness

Barbara Dafoe Whitehead and David Popenoe of the National Marriage Project have come out with their State of Our Unions report for 2006 (the reports come out annually, in the summer). The report is titled Life Without Children, highlighting the troubling trend of (often deliberately) childless marriages. Their Executive Summary: For most of the nation’s history, Americans expected to devote much of their adult life and work to the rearing of children. Today, life without children is emerging as a social reality for a growing number of American adults. Due to delay of marriage, postponed … [Read more...] about State of the (Marriage) Unions – Childlessness