90% of brits happy with there family life.

[LoZz]

in an age when devorce is more common and family break down is being blamed for everything from crime to poor educational standards its nice to know thats it is all not doom and gloom.

the most important thing about family is that it makes you happy. if your happy in your family then everything else, like if your parents are married is Irrelevant. and acording to this, brits are happy at home.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7074760.stm intresting numbers in the poll.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7078004.stm

And of 1,001 adults surveyed, 95% said their families were close - a rise of 4% since 1999.

and more than nine in 10 said they were very or fairly happy with their family life.

More than half of people eat a meal with their immediate family every day.

More than a third of people say the parent they are emotionally closest to lives within 10 miles of them.

Just under three quarters say they feel happiest around their families. This compares to just 17% who say they are happiest around friends.

Perhaps surprisingly, more women in the 1950s said their husbands did not spend enough time at home than today.


Meanwhile, in 1951, 90% of people thought their mother had done her best for them when they were children. Today, that figure is 94%.

The increase for fathers was from 80% in the 1950s to 86% now.

so despite the fact that 1 in 4 children live in a single parent home and parents are choseing to not get married but just live togther instead it seems people are still happy, infact more so then 40 years ago.


so are all the fears over single parenting and high divorce even relivent as long as people are happy? discuss.

my own feeling is that single parenting/ divorce is overhyped. most kids do not go threw some horrific divorce where they never see their dad again, most still see their dad on the weekends etc and those who dont usually dont want to (abuser etc) and marriage does not = happyness. you can be happy just living togther.

[Dayman]

I'd like to see what those number would be for the US, hell even for my city or state. That seems really high for this terrible world we all live in

[Bovril]

Interesting given the recent Tory report by IDS which basically said that Britain was a "broken society" due to the change in family structures since the 50s.

[Thanatos]

Yes, because children deserve to have a father and a mother.

[Bovril]

Yes, because children deserve to have a father and a mother.

I'm not so sure. You're implying that gay or single parent families are inherantly worse, which would not only offend many children brought up under those conditions, but is simplynot provable.

[Thanatos]

I'm not so sure. You're implying that gay or single parent families are inherantly worse, which would not only offend many children brought up under those conditions, but is simply provable.

Well, they are.

A true family needs support and responsibility on both adults.

"Offense" be damned.

[Dayman]

Well, they are.

A true family needs support and responsibility on both adults.

I was raised by a single mother, and my family experience was fine. Different from the traditional, but still great.

Tradition isn't always the best.

[Surgeon]

I was raised by a single mother, and my family experience was fine. Different from the traditional, but still great.

Tradition isn't always the best.

But you've nothing to compare that experience to... :/

I think about the only problem that can arise with single-parent families is that the children have a high chance of turning out either too feminine or too musculine in behavior. A guy who acts like a woman or a woman who acts like a guy would be seen as rather abnormal in most societies and might have problems competing with others and all that natural selection yada yada.

Edit: damn submit button before the post was finished...

[Lawrence of Arabia]

Well, they are.

A true family needs support and responsibility on both adults.

"Offense" be damned.

Species outside of homo sapiens have proven quite capable of raising children as single parents and they have been shown to be equals to heterosexual parents when it comes to caring for offspring.

I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that homosexual parents are worse than heterosexual parents, or that single parenting is worse the two parents. Single parents can do a very good job of raising their children.

[Bovril]

I merely mention the offence thing because your statement was moralistic in tone, and if you are going to play on that field you have to take into account people's subjective feelings.

Why is it that there is no proven link between, for example, emotional problems in children and having been brought up by gay parents. You need facts to back up the conservative rhetoric, otherwise we're not really going to be able to have a conversation, just a useless juxtaposing of ideas.

[Thanatos]

I merely mention the offence thing because your statement was moralistic in tone, and if you are going to play on that field you have to take into account people's subjective feelings.

Why is it that there is no proven link between, for example, emotional problems in children and having been brought up by gay parents. You need facts to back up the conservative rhetoric, otherwise we're not really going to be able to have a conversation, just a useless juxtaposing of ideas.

It certainly doesn't hurt.

[Bovril]

Its interesting to note that the countries with highest rates of children born outside wedlock, single parenthood and cohabitation as opposed to marriage are hardly exemplars of social breakdown. They are the Scandinavian countries and Holland, where standards of living are the amongst highest in the world.

[Surgeon]

It's still not your personal experience though. You do not know how you would have turned out if you had a father.

[humvee2800]

I think about the only problem that can arise with single-parent families is that the children have a high chance of turning out either too feminine or too musculine in behavior. A guy who acts like a woman or a woman who acts like a guy would be seen as rather abnormal in most societies and might have problems competing with others and all that natural selection yada yada.

Another non proven claim, a good friend of mine was raised by his mother, and he is quite a normal guy.

[Surgeon]

Another non proven claim, a good friend of mine was raised by his mother, and he is quite a normal guy.

"I think about the only problem that can arise with single-parent families is that the children have a high chance of turning out either too feminine or too musculine in behavior. A guy who acts like a woman or a woman who acts like a guy would be seen as rather abnormal in most societies and might have problems competing with others and all that natural selection yada yada."



Edit: Thinking about it, I think I've so far concluded this: it depends how much the child would be exposed to other kids etc. I know a guy who was raised by a mother and four sisters and he basically acts like a woman in a man's body (he isn't gay, for the record). My guess is that if kids from single-parent families go to kindergarten and school without being isolated at home too much, they ought to come out normal. Hm, this calls for genetic experiments.

[mrmouth]

How can polling 1000 possibly give you an accurate gauge of the feeling of an entire country?

[GrnEyedDvl]

How can polling 1000 possibly give you an accurate gauge of the feeling of an entire country?

They do it in the US all the time, depending on how reputable the pollster is and how the questions are framed, the results are generally in the ballpark. A good pollster knows who/when to throw out certain responses.

Most of the polls are well below 1000 people polled. All of these from Zogby have far less than 1000.


404
http://www.zogby.com/Soundbites/ReadClips.dbm?ID=15954

705
http://www.zogby.com/Soundbites/ReadClips.dbm?ID=15953

527 Democrats
http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1383

700 New Yorkers
http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1367

[The Good]

'Tis good news, that most of the people of Britain are happy with their families. Unfortunately, in this day and age, the traditional "nuclear" families are lowering in number, especially here in the United States, where I live, but also in many European countries. People seem to have little respect for marraige now, divorce is becoming increasingly rampant...

Thanatos: Yes, because children deserve to have a father and a mother.

Bavril: I'm not so sure. You're implying that gay or single parent families are inherantly worse, which would not only offend many children brought up under those conditions, but is simply provable.

Thanatos: Well, they are.

A true family needs support and responsibility on both adults.

"Offense" be damned.

Finally someone who isn't afraid to avoid politcal correctness. I despise of it in most circumstances.

[removeduser_487563287433]

Christ... can you imagine how miserable you would be in a loveless marriage?