Parenting Statistics Shows Us Sobering Trends Regarding Parenting Today

Parenting Statistics are an interesting and sobering way to see the latest trends in parenting today. We review just a few of them with you here and the numbers will surprise you.

Behind Parenting Statistics are real people with real problems. It is important to take a look at the trends in parenting from time to time and see in which direction the parenting world is moving, and how our family compares to the trends and figures in general.

Much has been said about statistics in general, such as how you can twist them to say whatever you want them to say, or how they are never to be trusted unless you have manipulated them yourself.

Parenting Statistics are simply a way to approach an understanding of trends and directions in the wider world of parenting, and these particular statistics refer to parenting in the USA only. They cannot be used to predict the future for any family or any individual in particular, yet they can help us to see in which direction the modern world of parenting is moving.

For this reason they are of interest to us as concerned parents.

There are enough Parenting Statistics in the world to fill the world with numbers, so the following is only a partial list of those items found to be of the most interest to what we most frequently talk about on this Parenting Website. How you interpret this data is for you to decide, yet simply reviewing it will be an educational exercise in itself and well worth your time.

These Parenting Statistics are divided into the following categories; Families, Fathers, Mothers, and Teenagers.

Please note that Preteens are generally included in the Teenage Statistics so for that reason there is not enough data to create a separate Preteen category all its own.

Warning: These Parenting Statistics are not happy ones. They do, however, illustrate the pressing need for more quality parenting in the world today, and this is precisely the Vision and Mission that this Website works to achieve each and every day!

Parenting Statistics – Families

• There were 12.9 million single parent families in 2006 - 10.4 million single mother families and 2.5 single father families

• In 2008, 56% of U.S. children were White, 22% were Hispanic, 15% were Black, 4% were Asian, and 5% were of other races.

• White, Black, and Asian parents view “Thinking for Oneself” as the most important quality their children can possess, while Hispanic parents view ‘Obedience’ as the most important childhood quality

• The majority of White, Hispanic, and Asian mothers set the limits on their young children’s (ages 3 to 12) activities, while this role falls to the fathers in Black families

• 98% of mothers and 90% of fathers hugged their children ages 0 to 2 years of age daily, compared to only 74% of mothers and 50% of fathers who hugged their children ages 10 to 12 years of age daily

• 50% of first marriages, 67% of second marriages, and 74% of third marriages end in divorce

• Couples who marry before the age of 25 run the highest risk of getting divorced, while couples who marry after the age of 30 run the lowest risk of divorce

• In 2008, 67% of children ages 0–17 lived with two married parents, down from 77% in 1980

• In 2007, 18% of all children ages 0–17 lived in poverty

• 90% of Americans believe adultery is morally wrong

• 70% of married women and 54% of married men did not know of their spouses' extramarital activity

• Parents in two-parent families spend an average of 2 hours a day interacting with their children compared to only 50 minutes for single-parent families

• 1 in every 58 children in the United States (2%), were abused in 2006

• 60% of abused children were the victims of educational, physical, or emotional neglect

• 40% of abused children were the victims of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse

• In 1999, 56% of single-parent families were Black, 32% of single-parent families were Hispanic, and 20% of single-parent families were White

Free Daddy and His Little Shadow Girls at the Skate Park Creative Commons - © Pink Sherbet Photography

Parenting Statistics – Fathers

• The fathers of over 1 million children in the United States are in prison

• Children with Fathers who are involved are 70% less likely to drop out of school

• About 27% of White children, 35% of Hispanic children, and 66% of Black children do not live with their biological father

• 63% of teen suicides come from fatherless homes

• About 40 % of children who do not live with their biological father have not seen him during the past 12 months

• 90% of all runaways and homeless children are from fatherless homes

• Even in high crime neighborhoods, 90% of children from stable 2 parent homes where the Father is involved do not become delinquents

• 85% of children with behavioral problems come from fatherless homes

• 85% of all youths in prison come from fatherless homes

• Children with Fathers who are involved are 40% less likely to repeat a grade in school

• Daughters of single parents without a Father involved are 53% more likely to marry as teenagers, 711% more likely to have children as teenagers, 164% more likely to have a pre-marital birth and 92% more likely to get divorced themselves

• 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers come from fatherless homes

• 22% of married men have strayed at least once during their married lives

• Single fathers often do not communicate with their children as well as do single mothers, which leads to children of single-father households being more likely to use marijuana, alcohol, and other illicit drugs, and to have sex at an earlier age

Parenting Statistics – Mothers

• Most single mothers with children younger than 6 years old have never been married

• In the year 2000, 27% of White mother’ births, 43% of Hispanic mother’s births, and 70% of Black mother’s births were out-of-wedlock births

• Approximately 84% of custodial parents are mothers

• 45% of custodial mothers are currently divorced or separated, and 34% have never been married

• 27% of custodial single mothers and their children live in poverty

• Girls, whose mothers were teenagers at the time of their birth, are over 80% more likely to become teenage mothers as well

• The percentage of children living only with their mothers has increased from 11% in 1970 to 24% in 2005

• 40% of all births are to unmarried women

• The unemployment rate for married women is 6%, while that for single women "who maintain families," stands at 12%

• 14% of married women have had affairs at least once during their married lives

• 9% of mothers in single-parent families report ever physically abusing their children compared to 4% of mothers in two-parent families

• Children from a single-parent household account for 72% of teenage murderers, 60% of people who commit rape crimes, and are 11 times more likely to exhibit violent behavior

• Approximately 70% of single-parent mothers live in poverty, earning less than $13,000 annually

Parenting Statistics – Teenagers

• 69% of teenagers have experienced some form of abuse in their relationships

• Approximately 1,500 teenagers will attempt suicide in the next twenty four hours

• 70% of girls who had sex before age 14, and 60% of girls who had sex before age 15 report having had sex involuntarily

• 10% of teenagers become sexually active by the age of fourteen, and 20% of teenagers aged 15 to 16 are sexually active

• Approximately 2,800 teenage girls will become pregnant in the next twenty four hours

• 50% of rape victims is under age 18, and 17% are under the age of 12

• About 20% of teens will experience teen depression before they reach adulthood

• Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15 to 24 year olds, and the sixth leading cause of death for 5 to 14 year olds – (That’s right, children as young as 5 years old!)

• Every 4 minutes a youth is arrested for an alcohol related crime

• Approximately 15,000 teenagers use drugs for the first time, every single day

• 25% of sexually active teens become infected with an STD every year

• Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among 15- to 20-year-olds

• Roughly 70% of teenagers killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2008 were males

• Approximately 3,500 teenagers run away from home every day

• Roughly 80% of adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18

• More than 50% of U.S. teens ages 15 to 19 have engaged in oral sex

The statistics on elementary school bullying, like parenting statistics in general, are alarming and shocking to good parents everywhere.

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