WHERE IS THE HOLY FAMILY?

People who know me, know that as a child psychologist, I am deeply concerned about the spiritual welfare of our children today.  This latest survey is distressing, and I think shows why our youth today are in such bad straits!

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.

Almost a quarter of U.S. children under the age of 18 live with one parent and no other adults (23%), more than three times the share of children around the world who do so (7%).

The study, which analyzed how people’s living arrangements differ by religion, also found that U.S. children from Christian and religiously unaffiliated families are about equally likely to live in this type of arrangement.

In comparison, 3% of children in China, 4% of children in Nigeria and 5% of children in India live in single-parent households. In neighboring Canada, the share is 15%.

While U.S. children are more likely than children elsewhere to live in single-parent households, they’re much less likely to live in extended families. In the U.S., 8% of children live with relatives such as aunts and grandparents, compared with 38% of children globally.

When we consider that the family (not preschool) is the place where children develop into what they will become, especially in the spiritual sense. It is where we are equipped to become what God created us to be. Children come to know who God is through their parents. In the so-called developed world, the family is increasingly an artifact of convenience at best.

In this Christmas season, we need to look to the Holy Family for inspiration and pray for guidance- which is not gotten from books or TV or the internet.