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  • Single parent households

    Among other charged topics that were brought up on a recent thread (that was finally closed), one referenced single parent households, and how somehow we had "bipartisan" agreement (at least amongst the married males?) that they are "bad for kids" (amongst a number of other similar comments). No real studies were cited because it's such common knowledge that kids from single parent households do worse, period.

    Right?

    Well, just wanted to throw out there some actual recent studies, since people's preconceived notions haven't shifted much despite quite a bit of new data on the topic. I was actually surprised that smart docs on here didn't seem to consider the lack of controls in the sources they had likely heard about from the past in making the judgement about how kids from different families tend to do.  It's human nature to be biased by personal perspective though.  There are actually several studies (and books) that have since been published which debunk the prior thoughts on the effect of the single parent household. I can link a few, but the upshot is basically that one has to consider correlation vs causation (remember that stuff?).

    The current data actually show that, when controlled for other factors (education, finances, family stability, poverty level) there's not much difference.  What matters more is famililal stability, parental education, intentional childbearing, and if mom works or not (working mom = better, regardless of finances) -- all of which can occur in single vs married households.  There does appear to be a benefit to "stable adult role models" (more = better), but no correlation how many of those have to be parents (strong social network = as good or better than 2 parents in the home).

    One interesting stat I noted was that kids seem to do better living with single mom vs dad+stepmom (I kind of get it, but interesting that it was noted in studies).

    Take-home message I'm getting for avoiding family structure pitfalls is: 1. Get an education, 2. Try not to be poor, 3. Better to be single than marry+divorce, 4. Better to have a "working mom" than one who stays at home.

    In my circles (family stuff analyzed heavily) this stuff is somewhat common knowledge, but I figured I'd pass the info on for those open to hearing it.  Some links are easily digestible and summarize the ideas, a couple are original articles where you can skip to the conclusion.

    If you don't buy it, you don't have to.  It is what it is.

    https://nypost.com/2017/03/14/children-of-single-parents-grow-up-just-as-successful-as-peers/
    https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170705095332.htm
    https://scholar.utc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1329&context=mps
    https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/living-single/200901/children-single-mothers-how-do-they-really-fare
    https://www.hbs.edu/news/articles/Pages/mcginn-working-mom.aspx

  • #2
    "One interesting stat I noted was that kids seem to do better living with single mom vs dad+stepmom (I kind of get it, but interesting that it was noted in studies)."

    Talk about confirmation bias.

    What's your question/goal here?

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    • #3
      I peeked at one. Couldn’t get past the “Gender Initiatves”. Female after female seem to find a way to be superior in just about any catagory. Dang, did you see spending close to TWICE the time taking care of Family after work? That reminds me of the child psychologist study showing how important it was to ask her boy each morning if he felt like dressing as a boy or girl.
      My dog sits for treats too. My wife doesn’t. No debate from me since all the data was self reported I suppose.
      Maybe not. I need to go meditate. Treats! Behavior modifications through self reporting. Genius!

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      • #4
        Women rule. Men suck.

        For years the AHA thought dietary fats were the primary contributor to blood lipid levels. There was research that backed it up. We now know they are wrong.

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        • #5
          Tangentially related but reminded me of this video,

           

          https://youtu.be/5Ua-WVg1SsA

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          • #6
            WCICON24 EarlyBird
            I apologize for stepping on any toes, but don't see much purpose in going down the same direction as the thread we just closed. The links are available for all to read and disseminate in private.
            My passion is protecting clients and others from predatory and ignorant advisors 270-247-6087 for CPA clients (we are Flat Fee for both CPA & Fee-Only Financial Planning)
            Johanna Fox, CPA, CFP is affiliated with Wrenne Financial for financial planning clients

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