The Pew Research Center reported that For decades, the share of U.S. children living with a single parent has been rising, accompanied by a decline in marriage rates and a rise in births outside of marriage. A new Pew Research Center study of 130 countries and territories shows that the U.S. has the world’s highest rate of children living in single-parent households.
23% of U.S. children under the age of 18 live with one parent. This percentage is three times the worldwide average. 3% of children in China, 4% in Nigeria, and 5% in India live in single-parent households. In neighboring Canada, it is 15%.
8% of U.S. children live with aunts and grandparents. This compares to 38% globally.
The U.S., like other economically advanced countries, particularly in Europe and northern Asia, has relatively small households overall. The average person in the U.S. lives in a home of 3.4 people – which is less than the global average of 4.9, but slightly higher than the European average of 3.1. In the U.S., Christians (3.4), the unaffiliated (3.2) and Jews (3.0) live with roughly the same number of household members.
Americans also differ from others around in the world in their living arrangements after age 60. Older adults in the U.S. are more likely than those around the world to age alone: More than a quarter of Americans ages 60 and older live alone (27%), compared with a global average of 16%. There are only 14 countries with higher shares of older adults living alone, and all are in Europe. They include Lithuania (41%), Denmark (39%) and Hungary (37%).
In the U.S. people over the age of 60 generally live alone or with another person. In many parts of the world, it is expected that adult children will care for their aging parents.
Women ages 35 to 59 in the U.S., for example, are more likely than men in the same age group to live as single parents (9% vs. 2%), a pattern mirrored in every region and religious group around the world.
50% of U.S. men ages 60 and older live with a partner. While only 40% of women live with a partner.
Needless to say, I find many of these statistics very disturbing. That is, having observed the love and attention my daughter and son-in-law devote to my grandson, I believe their efforts will help Aristides effectively deal with the challenges of life. Stated differently, while single parents love their children, they neither have the time, energy, or skill set to provide all of a child’s needs. When I visited China, I witnessed a single child surrounded by two parents, and 4 grandparents. I find this infinitely superior to our arrangements.
I believe that Pew Research has correctly recognized the need of men over 60 to have a companion. In my case, I take advantage of a lot of resources to remain single. First of all, I live in a building where electricians with a phone call fix everything within minutes. Secondly, I either go out to dinner every night or pick up specially prepared meals from a deluxe grocery store. Thirdly, I have only twice used my oven in 10 years. Instead, hell or high water I rely upon my microwave. Lastly, for almost 8 years I never made coffee. Instead, I went down daily to our third floor and picked up coffee. Finally, a wonderful neighbor bought me a Keurig machine so I now can make coffee.
