Family Edge

Living together first puts marriage at risk

Carolyn Moynihan — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:33:07 GMT

When will young adults get the message that living together does not increase their chances of a lasting marriage? New analysis of US national data shows that, on average, cohabitation actually decreases by 6 percentage points the likelihood of marriage lasting 10 years or more. Read more...

‘Love means never having to say you’re sorry.’ Oh yeah?

Carolyn Moynihan — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 06:41:47 GMT

What can you say about a simple romantic story that spent more than a year on the New York Times hardcover best-seller list, became the first modern blockbuster movie and saved Paramount films from collapse? Read more...

Character parts

Carolyn Moynihan — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 09:57:06 GMT

We hear a lot these days about giving children social skills, cultivating critical thinking, resilience, emotional intelligence and the like, but it all boils down to character -- a concept neglected for much of the 20th century. Read more...

In Boston they call it polyamory

Carolyn Moynihan — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 06:26:49 GMT

Africans have some excuse for polygamy -- after all, it is traditional. But how do certain Bostonians justify what they are calling “polyamory” and what is just a polished-up version of free love? Read more...

Marriage and money in the Great Recession

Carolyn Moynihan — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:52:53 GMT

How are marriages -- American marriages, at least -- doing during the Great Recession? That is the question the latest State of Our Unions report from the National Marriage Project sets out to answer, and the findings are not all bad news. Read more...

Why women had to get to work

Carolyn Moynihan — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 01:15:35 GMT

One of the less appreciated benefits of the female workforce revolution is the fact that women no longer have time to watch daytime soap operas. This week another long-running American serial, As The World Turns, bit the dust, bringing the number on three networks down to six -- more than enough, heaven knows. Read more...

‘I was never your father’ - DNA testing and what it can do to children

Carolyn Moynihan — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 08:35:57 GMT

We are used to the sad stories of children who have never known their fathers, and of those whose fathers become estranged through divorce; but there are a growing number of children who risk losing the only father they have ever known because he discovers he is not their father after all. Read more...

The Children’s Rights Convention at 20

Carolyn Moynihan — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:02:55 GMT

The twentieth anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child passed 10 days ago, accompanied by much comment on the fact that the United States and Somalia are the only two countries that have not signed it. UNICEF marked the occasion with a 100-page special edition of its annual report, The State of the World’s Children. Read more...

The pursuit of happiness

Carolyn Moynihan — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:32:45 GMT

Is it time to shelve materialistic measures of a country’s progress such as gross domestic product and replace them with quality of life indicators like access to healthcare, ecological footprint and work-life balance? Read more...

Grandparents yearn to meet donated progeny

Carolyn Moynihan — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:30:57 GMT

We recently noted that would-be grandparents in Britain are paying for their grown-up children’s IVF treatments. Now we learn that Canadian women whose daughters -- and sons -- have donated gametes to other couples are pining for their unknown grandchildren. The grand-parenting urge is apparently very strong, especially when you know that the grandchildren are out there somewhere, and artificial begetting brings mixed blessings. Read more...

Marriage movement makes waves in New Zealand

Carolyn Moynihan — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:03:59 GMT

The marriage movement is making itself felt in Australia and New Zealand with the publication of a report, 21 Reasons Why Marriage Matters, this week. A coalition of marriage and family advocacy groups is backing the report, which is based on local and international research showing the benefits of marriage over alternative arrangements for family life. Read more...

President Obama to kids: be responsible

Carolyn Moynihan — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:52:06 GMT

After all the brouhaha leading up to President Obama’s back to school address to America’s students, he gave them a first-rate pep talk that no-one in their right mind could disagree with. It was about taking responsibility for one’s own path in life, discovering what they are good at, setting goals and putting in the serious work to achieve them. Read more...

19 kids and counting

Carolyn Moynihan — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 06:00:27 GMT

We have featured a couple of very large families on MercatorNet -- a New Zealand family with 14 children and a Spanish family with 15 (now 16) -- but both are outstripped by the Duggar family of Tontitown, Arkansas. Read more...

The spiritual world of children

Carolyn Moynihan — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:33:48 GMT

News that the spiritual welfare of young children is being neglected somewhere will not surprise anyone, but the evidence adduced by a British researcher produced an eye-catching headline in the London Telegraph. “Angel sightings ‘should not be dismissed’”, it read. Read more...

Parenting pathways

Carolyn Moynihan — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:19:42 GMT

If your parents were negative and harsh with you growing up, that’s the way you will be with your kids. And if they were positive and affectionate, well, lucky for your kids. That’s the assumption behind a popular theory of parenting, but researchers who have done long-term studies say it’s wrong. Read more...

Calling all monogamous men

Carolyn Moynihan — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:16:57 GMT

Family scholar Patrick Fagan has come up with elegant schema contrasting “monogamous” culture with other kinds of sexual culture which he calls, collectively, “polyamorous”. Speaking at the world Congress of Families recently in Amsterdam, he highlighted the gulf that exists between the two cultures in terms of values and practical consequences. And he proposed a solution. Read more...

Abstinence, yes, but what about marriage?

Carolyn Moynihan — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 03:57:09 GMT

The abstinence-until-marriage movement in the United States has been a positive and courageous response to the sexual revolution. As the basis for sex education it has met with determined opposition because of adult scepticism, and probably dislike of the very idea of abstinence. Now a sociologist who is also an Evangelical Christian is suggesting another reason for reviewing the way Christians promote abstinence. Read more...

New Zealand referendum rejects smacking ban

Carolyn Moynihan — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 06:33:14 GMT

Other nanny states with an eye on New Zealand’s anti-smacking law nowhave referendum results to inform them how popular it is to outlaw theuse of smack for the purpose of correcting a child. Read more...

Art galleries that don’t respect children

Carolyn Moynihan — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 07:13:43 GMT

Is it safe to take your children to an art gallery these days? A writer complains in the New York Times about taking his twin boys, aged 7, to one of his favourite galleries and running into an exhibition with “graphic images”. The name, “And/Or”, provided no clue to the genitalia displayed; the warning sign at the entrance was in very small print. Read more...

Are girls risking death now to avoid cervical cancer?

Carolyn Moynihan — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:31:55 GMT

The vaccine promoted as a safeguard for girls against developing cervical cancer later in life has been linked with at least 20 deaths in the United States and hundreds of other serious adverse reactions. This is prevention, if you like, but not the sort most parents envisage. Read more...

Smile and live longer

Carolyn Moynihan — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 06:43:58 GMT

Can pessimists learn to be optimists? If so, they could lengthen theirlives, an American study shows. Research on nearly 100,000 women foundthat pessimists had higher blood pressure and cholesterol; but evenwith those risks, optimists fared better than their cynical sisters. Read more...

British tax and benefit system favours single parents

Carolyn Moynihan — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 11:01:18 GMT

Does the British government actually not want some people to marry? It rather looks like it, judging by the financial penalty many couples face as a result of the tax they pay and the benefits they do not receive. In fact, it looks as though the government wants those who are married to split up. Read more...

Hollywood history so much more memorable than the facts

Carolyn Moynihan — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 04:12:44 GMT

Was Mozart a childish and vulgar young man who mocked royalty? Was Marie Antoinette able to quell the revolutionary mob at Versailles just by appearing on the balcony? Did the exploits of the American navy lead to the cracking of the German Enigma code? Well, no, probably not, and no. Read more...

Families gather around TV to do their own thing

Carolyn Moynihan — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 05:12:54 GMT

Electronic media, once a force for togetherness as whole families gathered around the radio or television, are now pulling families apart, according to a report from the UK’s communication’s regulator, Ofcom. Read more...

Lead us not into temptation…

Carolyn Moynihan — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:45:42 GMT

In a refreshing change from research that looks for excuses for everyday vices in people’s genes or family background, a study from the Kellogg School of Management looks at things like temptation, willpower and humility (yes, really) in impulsive and addictive behaviour. Read more...

Grand expectations

Carolyn Moynihan — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 06:26:27 GMT

In vitro fertilisation clinics should be doing a freeze during the recession, but in Britain their income is going up and up. Research conducted for a women’s magazine indicates that £2.9 billion will be spent on fertility treatments this year compared with £1.8 billion in 2007. Government funded IVF is in short supply, so where is the private money coming from? Read more...

China’s abortion surge blamed on young, single women

Carolyn Moynihan — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 04:01:44 GMT

A report in the official Chinese newspaper China Daily reveals some shocking figures on abortion in that country: 13 million surgical abortions a year performed in hospitals, 10 million abortion pills sold every year, and unknown number of abortions done in unregistered rural hospitals. “Family planning” statistics are usually considered state secrets, so why this sudden revelation? Read more...

Does Hogwarts have a drinking problem?

Carolyn Moynihan — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 06:42:30 GMT

A good question, asked by New York Times Well blogger Tara Parker-Pope. In scene after scene of the movie Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, she says, “the young wizards and their adult professors are seen sipping, gulping and pouring various forms of alcohol to calm their nerves, fortify their courage or comfort their sorrows.” Parents may be surprised -- and not very happy about this message. Read more...

Divorce has lasting effects on health

Carolyn Moynihan — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:30:02 GMT

More evidence has come to light of the damage divorce does to family members. A study of 8652 people aged 51 to 61 shows that those who have been divorced, as well as those widowed, have worse health than those who have been continuously married or who have never married. Their health improves somewhat with remarriage but still suffers long term effects. Read more...

New Zealand parents reject smacking ban

Carolyn Moynihan — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 03:53:44 GMT

The Great Smacking Debate is in full flight in New Zealand where a law change two years ago specifically banned the use of “force” for the purpose of correcting children. Opponents of the new law collected enough signatures to secure a referendum on the smacking issue, which takes place next month. A New Zealand Herald poll last week shows that 85 per cent of parents of young children plan to vote No on the question: “Should a smack as part of good parental be a criminal offence in New Zealand?” Read more...

Children engulfed by armed conflict

Carolyn Moynihan — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 06:52:43 GMT

A distressing report from UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, says that more then one billion children live in countries or territories affected by armed conflict. Just think of it: that’s about one-sixth of the world’s total population. More than 300 million of these children are under the age of five, and 18 million children are refugees or displaced persons. Read more...

Why are young men still living at home more violent?

Carolyn Moynihan — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 02:01:32 GMT

We have are used to the idea that young men are responsible for much of the violence in society, but who would have thought that living under the parental roof was the strongest risk factor for such behaviour? And yet, that is what researchers at Queen Mary, University of London, found when they asked over 8000 men and women about violent behaviour over the past five years and mental health problems. Read more...

Lessons from career woman’s no-baby shock

Carolyn Moynihan — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 04:28:02 GMT

I have just caught up with a classic “confessions of a career woman” story by a British woman who has reached the age of 45 bitterly disappointed that she will never have her own child. The Daily Mail headline says it all: “Seduced by stories of stars giving birth later and IVF myths, career-obsessed Lucy believed children and love could wait.” Read more...

US teen sex statistics show ‘disheartening’ trend

Carolyn Moynihan — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 07:10:46 GMT

Birth rates among teenagers are on the rise again in the United States after large declines between 1991 and 2005, according to a report from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. Other sexual health indicators also have flattened or worsened in what the CDC calls a “disheartening” reversal. Predictably, there are calls for “better sex education” -- meaning more stuff about condoms and pills, evidently. Read more...

Japan’s new craze: marriage hunting

Carolyn Moynihan — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:42:44 GMT

Japan’s population might be ageing and shrinking, but the Japanese are not short of an idea or two to tackle the trend. With marriages rates well below those of an older generation, today’s 20- to 40-somethings are fuelling a new fad known as “konkatsu” or “marriage hunting”, pursuing Mr or Mrs Right with the seriousness of nailing down a job. Read more...

Every Family Matters: A major British report on marriage

Carolyn Moynihan — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 05:26:28 GMT

Despite what we have said recently on this blog, some Brits do get it about things to do with family life, and some of them are pretty important people. There is, for example, the former Conservative Party leader and current MP Iain Duncan Smith, who heads a very influential think tank called the Centre for Social Justice. This independent policy group has just published a major report calling for legal changes to support marriage as the basis of stable family life. Read more...

Mother-daughter, father-son links in obesity

Carolyn Moynihan — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:41:58 GMT

The problem of obesity continues to haunt governments while scientists come up with conflicting ideas about the causes. (If you thought it was simply a matter of over-eating, you are sadly out of date.) The theory that it all comes down to genetics has just taken a knock from British researchers who find strong evidence that parental role models are the real problem. Read more...

‘The doctor made you in a dish and put you in someone else’s tummy’

Carolyn Moynihan — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:48:52 GMT

There can’t be too many parents around these days who fumble the answer to their children’s “Where did I come from?” question. But there are now thousands in the United States -- and elsewhere -- who have to put a lot more thought than the average parent into their replies. Those are the steadily growing numbers who are using surrogate mothers to provide them with babies. Read more...

Where teen pregnancies come from - the Brits still don’t get it

Carolyn Moynihan — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:17:02 GMT

A programme launched by the British government in 2004 to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies in the UK has had the opposite effect, a study published in the British Medical Journal shows. Young girls who followed the programme were nearly three times as likely to become pregnant, about 1.75 times more likely to have sex and were also more likely to expect to be a teenage parent. The only good news is that the government is going to ditch the programme. Read more...

Pope’s letter calls for openness to human life

Carolyn Moynihan — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:11:28 GMT

Pope Benedict XVI’s new encyclical letter, “On Integral Human Development in Charity and Truth”, discusses a wide spectrum of social realities, among them the need for openness to new human life, which, he says, “is at the centre of true development”, and protection of the family founded on “marriage between a man and a woman, the primary vital cell of society”. Read more...

A family-friendly White House?

Carolyn Moynihan — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 06:54:27 GMT

American first couple Barack and Michelle Obama are trying to keep some balance between their hugely demanding jobs and family life. They have also promised a family-friendly workplace for their staff. How well are they doing? Read more...

Drink! Drink! Drink! Students keep bingeing during general decline

Carolyn Moynihan — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:30:20 GMT

Good news and bad news about young people and binge drinking: in the United States, anyway, reckless drinking is down over all, but not among college students. Among 18- to 20-year-old men who did not attend college, binge drinking declined more than 30 per cent between 1979 and 2006. But among male students it remained at a steady and significant level, while among female students -- and this is the really bad news -- it went up. Read more...

Can you talk yourself into feeling loveable?

Carolyn Moynihan — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:34:24 GMT

One of the most influential ideas of the twentieth century was summedup in the title of Norman Vincent Peale’s book, The Power of PositiveThinking, published in 1952. “It is of practical value to learn to likeyourself. Since you must spend so much time with yourself you might aswell get some satisfaction out of the relationship,” Peale is quoted assaying. Now some Canadian researchers are saying it doesn’t work -- forthe people who need it most. Read more...

Disney world ‘too heterosexual’ for children’s good

Carolyn Moynihan — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 05:34:31 GMT

Many experts are concerned about the effects on children of their being immersed in electronic media from a tender age. They worry largely about the things they are not doing while watching TV or videos: developing their vocabulary through talking to their parents; listening to or reading books; going to the park for healthy exercise and social activities. But two sociologists have come up with a novel reason for fretting about kids’ exposure to media: the risk of seeing heterosexuality as normal and desirable. Read more...

Young people quiz their peers on YouTube use and abuse

Carolyn Moynihan — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:23:19 GMT

A survey of teenage use of the popular video-sharing website YouTube confirms that it is very easy for minors to give their age as 18 or over when creating an account on the site, and therefore to access objectionable material. Parents need to advise their children against looking for R18 videos and YouTube needs to make its safety features more prominent, a new report suggests. Read more...

Child misery lit gives parents a bad rap

Carolyn Moynihan — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:50:04 GMT

My Sister’s Keeper, a movie that opened in the United States last Friday, brings to the big screen the pessimistic view of parenthood that has made writer Jodi Picoult enormously popular and rich. In this dark narrative a couple with a delinquent teenage son and a daughter who has an acute form of leukemia conceive a third child to serve as her bone-marrow donor. Read more...

Throwing oil on the blaze of teenage sex

Carolyn Moynihan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:14:59 GMT

From the country that brought you the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe -- television ads for condoms and abortion. Will the British government never get it? The more “harm reduction” they go in for, the worse the problem gets. Read more...

A role the government can’t fill

Carolyn Moynihan — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 06:25:55 GMT

Inspiring words from the Commander-in-Chief during a young men’s barbecue at the White House on Friday. Students from local schools came to discuss the importance of fatherhood and taking personal responsibility with President Obama and other famous fathers. Read more...

Internet, the thief of family time

Carolyn Moynihan — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:11:29 GMT

If anybody doubted it, research by one of America’s leading journalism institutes confirms that the Internet is making inroads into family time. Members are dealing with each other less face-to-face, women in particular are tending to feel ignored at times, and parents worry that their children are spending too much time online. Read more...

Tiger Woods: ‘Nothing beats fun with the kids’

Carolyn Moynihan — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:31:16 GMT

What is it about golf and fatherhood? Jack Nicklaus was the super dad (of five) of his day. A few years ago it New Zealand whiz-kid Michael Campbell who carried the torch for family life. Now it’s Tiger Woods, poster boy for Father’s Day as he delights in the recent expansion of his family. Read more...