Speaking at Heritage, Rebecca Hagelin, author of 30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family, shared some startling news with us about the decline of families in America. A point that she brought up is that when people can’t depend on their family, they turn to the government for dependence. A report from CNN started that 40% of children are born outside of wedlock.
This is an alarming trend. According to our FamilyFacts.org web site’s Top 10 findings for December 2008, married families are much better off financially than divorced or unmarried parents. Perhaps, even more alarming, is the age of the unwed mothers. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the highest percentage of unwed mothers are women under 20.
A contributing factor to the decline of the family is that parents are increasingly letting the television set raise their kids. They are letting someone that they do not know with a different world view have an influence on what their children believe. PBS produced a documentary called “Merchants of Cool” that focuses on how media executives market to teenagers. With 200 billion dollars of discretionary spending, this is the most affluent generation of teenagers in the history of America.
Visit Rebecca’s Web site HowToSaveYourFamily.com and sign up for weekly tips on how to strengthen the family and stem the tide of moral ambiguity and government dependence.