For Black Parents, Maybe Co-Habitation Deserves a Second Look
July 4, 2012 Leave a comment
http://mybrownbaby.com/2012/07/for-black-parents-maybe-co-habitation-deserves-a-second-look/
By NICK CHILES
For most of us, we don’t have to look far to find evidence of the growing attraction of co-habitation over marriage for more and more couples, even those who have children together. From the celebrity culture with which this nation seems obsessed to our friends and family, we see more people choosing to forgo the ring and the marriage certificate. This is especially evident in the black community, where plenty of black folk (and black celebs) are choosing the roommate option over the ring. Nia Long was just on the cover of Essence magazine, talking about the strength of her relationship and not feeling like she needed a ring.
An article on Parenting.com chronicles the growing trend of cohabitation and asks whether this is good for the children. The article seems to come down on the side of….uh, maybe, maybe not. Stats reveal how much more common it is: The percentage of first births to women living with a male partner jumped from 12 percent in 2002 to 22 percent in 2010, according to the CDC. And the National Marriage Project, based at the University of Virginia, found that kids today are twice as likely to have unmarried parents living together than divorced ones. Read more of this post
