Half of all pregnancies in the United States are either unplanned or unintended. Moreover, while fewer people are getting married, childbearing outside of wedlock is on the rise. These trends suggest that couples who have unplanned children are ambivalent or unenthusiastic about becoming parents, or, at the very least, are unprepared for parenthood. What kind of future does this mean for their kids ...and for society as a whole? In Generation Unbound , nationally known budget expert Isabel V. Sawhill presents likely causes for the recent changes in the traditional family structure, such as the increase in women's economic opportunities, declining economic prospects of men, access to birth control and abortion, and new social norms that allow young people more choices - but provide less guidance on what it means to be an adult. Sawhill reveals an emerging class divide in patterns of marriage and childbearing: at the top of the ladder are "planners," who are marrying and having children only after establishing a career; at the bottom, and increasingly in the middle, are "drifters" who are having children early, outside of marriage, and without the stable support of the second parent. Sawhill sees merit in the views of those on the political left, who argue for more social support for the drifters, including expanded child care, parental leave, family-friendly workplaces, and financial assistance, and for those on the right who argue for restoring traditional marriage so that children are raised in a stable family. But, she also points out that while collective responses are needed, they alone can't solve the problem. Any such efforts must be combined with the exercise of greater personal responsibility by potential parents themselves.
Show moreHalf of all pregnancies in the United States are either unplanned or unintended. Moreover, while fewer people are getting married, childbearing outside of wedlock is on the rise. These trends suggest that couples who have unplanned children are ambivalent or unenthusiastic about becoming parents, or, at the very least, are unprepared for parenthood. What kind of future does this mean for their kids ...and for society as a whole? In Generation Unbound , nationally known budget expert Isabel V. Sawhill presents likely causes for the recent changes in the traditional family structure, such as the increase in women's economic opportunities, declining economic prospects of men, access to birth control and abortion, and new social norms that allow young people more choices - but provide less guidance on what it means to be an adult. Sawhill reveals an emerging class divide in patterns of marriage and childbearing: at the top of the ladder are "planners," who are marrying and having children only after establishing a career; at the bottom, and increasingly in the middle, are "drifters" who are having children early, outside of marriage, and without the stable support of the second parent. Sawhill sees merit in the views of those on the political left, who argue for more social support for the drifters, including expanded child care, parental leave, family-friendly workplaces, and financial assistance, and for those on the right who argue for restoring traditional marriage so that children are raised in a stable family. But, she also points out that while collective responses are needed, they alone can't solve the problem. Any such efforts must be combined with the exercise of greater personal responsibility by potential parents themselves.
Show moreIsabel V. Sawhill is a senior fellow in Economic Studies at Brookings, where she holds the Cabot Family Chair. She also serves as codirector of the Center on Children and Families. She is the coauthor (with Ron Haskins) of Creating an Opportunity Society (Brookings, 2009) and board president of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.
This superbly written book, drawing on insights from behavioral
economics, provides clearheaded, actionable recommendations on how
we can change course and ensure that every young person can achieve
their full potential."- Mark Edwards, Executive Director,
Opportunity Nation;
"No one is better qualified than Isabel Sawhill to tackle two of
the most important questions facing America today. At a time of
rapidly changing family structure, who is best able to raise
children? And how can we do a better job of making sure the
children who are born are welcomed by parents who are prepared to
give them the love and sustained attention they deserve? Full of
new research and analysis, this book will make you re-think what
you know about both."- Judy Woodruff, PBS Newshour;
"Forty years ago, Isabel Sawhill inspired a generation of scholars,
including myself, with her landmark research on divorce. Now she
does it again, turning her sharp eye on nonmarital childbearing
with equal success. Free of ideology and comprehensive in scope,
her story highlights how the decline in marriage is affecting
children's life chances and what might be done to reverse the
trend."- Sara S. McLanahan, William S. Tod Professor of Sociology
and Public Affairs, Princeton University;
"Dr. Sawhill makes a thoughtful, fresh, rigorously documented case
for reducing unplanned pregnancies. She pushes against a strong
headwind to argue for two-parent families as often as possible. If
she is right about the economic and cultural implications of our
changing procreation behavior, we have a lot of work to do."- Donna
Shalala, former Secretary of Health and Human Services
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