Did you know your kids aren't yours? (Page 5)

Since there is no red font, I assume you mean this in a literal sense. I can see how both of you would have read his comments.

But isn't it possible to feel bad about how parental separation impacts kids.. and also see that this country's high rate of divorce can have an effect on our young people, but also recognize that it's not the only issue that we deal with in education? (coz I think the original video specifically spoke about needing more support for education)

I don't know why you'd feel bad about it either. 

imagine if my parents HADN'T divorced, and i continued to watch my dad beat the crap out of my mom while growing up?  imagine the impact THAT would have had on my sister and i!

i never even COMMENTED on the original thread, just tony's terribly narrow-minded sweeping statement that single moms are not capable of raising good human beings.

Was that really necessary?  I also never even came close to saying what you're accusing me of and take offense.

So, in your opinion are kids better off being raised with one parent or two?

Was that really necessary?  I also never even came close to saying what you're accusing me of and take offense.

So, in your opinion are kids better off being raised with one parent or two?

Was that really necessary?  I also never even came close to saying what you're accusing me of and take offense.

So, in your opinion are kids better off being raised with one parent or two?

If two is better than one, how about three? Or four? Maybe Joseph Smith had it right after all.

in my opinion, the number of parents is IRRELEVANT.

i laughed when I read that, but you are correct that it does depend.  I'll even use my own anecdotal example.  My parents got a divorce when I was 5 and my sister was 7.  I lived with my dad, and my sister lived with my mom.  My Dad was very neglectful and I pretty much ran the hood all day/night, but he was very loving and kind.  My mother was pretty over bearing and very critical of my sister.  My sister grew up to be a very bad alcoholic and worked in a strip club for many years.  Had her kids taken away by the state and is still to this day in a very rough spot.  Both of us with a lot of the same DNA, had two very different experiences with the single parent upbringing.

On the flip side, I'm sure all of us can come up with examples of people we know who were jacked up but had both parents together.

So, yes it's a generalization that two parents are better than one and it's most certainly not true in all cases.  However, I contend that statistically children are far better off if their parents stay together and have a healthy loving relationship.  Parents that hate each other staying together doesn't help anyone.

And the problem with that would be....  ???

My kids are *not* happy with me when I burn their toast. Lightly-browned toast = well-adjusted adults.

in my opinion, the number of parents is IRRELEVANT.

That's easy.  Just google statistics of kids with two parents and you'll have hundreds of sites to read.  Now please don't misconstrue this into an all or none that every kid is better off with two parents and all kids raised by single parents are losers, because that's not true, and I'm not saying that.

here's a few with some of the stats/summaries.

http://www.kn2p.org/resources:statistics
70% of juveniles are in State Institutions
71% of High School dropouts
75% of children in chemical abuse centers
80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes
80% of adolescents in psychiatric hospitals come from broken homes.
85% of youth sitting in prisons grew up in fatherless homes.
85% of children with behavioral problems

Statistics reveal stark challenges for children raised in one-parent households
Statistically, a child in a single-parent household is far more likely to experience violence, commit suicide, continue a cycle of poverty, become drug dependent, commit a crime or perform below his peers in education.

http://thefatherlessgeneration.wordpress.com/statistics/

• 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes (US Dept. Of Health/Census) – 5 times the average.
• 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes – 32 times the average.
• 85% of all children who show behavior disorders come from fatherless homes – 20 times the average.  (Center for Disease Control)
• 80% of rapists with anger problems come from fatherless homes –14 times the average.  (Justice & Behavior, Vol 14, p. 403-26)
• 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes – 9 times the average.  (National Principals Association Report)

Father Factor in Education - Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school.

• Children with Fathers who are involved are 40% less likely to repeat a grade in school.
• Children with Fathers who are involved are 70% less likely to drop out of school.
• Children with Fathers who are involved are more likely to get A’s in school.
• Children with Fathers who are involved are more likely to enjoy school and engage in extracurricular activities.
• 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes – 10 times the average.

If two is better than one, how about three? Or four? Maybe Joseph Smith had it right after all.

I wonder if they have the statistics regarding areas they are in and how big a % difference they are between the single parent/divorced vs. other married couples in the same area or same school. I bet the % would be smaller numbers.

http://esr.oxfordjournals.org/content/10/2/173.abstract

http://www.census.gov/prod/3/97pubs/cb-9701.pdf

again there may be very good reasons why a single parent household is better in any given situation but on the whole it does matter. The gender of the single parent also has some bearing.