families news stories on Newser

Babies Aren't Just Inconvenient Accessories

Mark Russell — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 09:44:03 CDT

Get a babysitter and get away from your newborn—you need to keep your sanity. So goes the unsolicited advice to young parents. But since when did babies become just inconvenient accessories? "Had we had actually had a baby, I wondered, or simply gotten a goldfish?" asks Tracy Moore over...

Time to End Myth About 'Stable' Slave Families

Matt Cantor — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:32:05 CDT

There’s a persistent myth in America that slavery was “an idyllic world of stable families headed by married parents," writes Tera Hunter—a myth that Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum’s endorsement of the “Marriage Vow” served to highlight. It’s time for us to understand the truth, writes Hunter in the...

Theory: Women With Daughters Don't Need Husbands

John Johnson — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 06:47:13 CDT

Sociologists have puzzled over an odd stat for years: Parents are more likely to divorce if they have girls instead of boys. The New York Times parenting blog today takes note of a new theory by a Notre Dame psychologist: Women who have daughters don't need a husband as much...

Why Parenting Makes Us Unhappy

Evann Gastaldo — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 12:36:17 CDT

Ask parents if their children make them happy and they’ll likely say yes. So why does almost every study on the subject show that having children tends to make people less happy—and that, in fact, many parents love their kids but hate parenting? In an extensive New York article...

Stop Blaming Pornography

John Johnson — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 13:47:54 CDT

Helen Smith objects to an essay in the National Review (read it here ) that blames pornography for destroying families, distorting men's view of women, increasing rapes, and generally ruining America. The anonymous author even blames porn for causing her husband to leave. Smith's not buying it.

Middle Class Losing Health Insurance Fastest

Harry Kimball — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:18:46 CDT

Middle-class Americans are losing their health insurance coverage faster than any other group, with 16.2% of people in the income bracket finding themselves without coverage in 2008. That’s 12.9 million uninsured—up from 10.5 million in 2000—among families who make between $45,000 and $85,000...

Cash-Strapped Adults Back Home With Prickly Parents

Rob Quinn — Thu, 14 May 2009 07:41:46 CDT

Tempers are fraying in households across America as tough times force a growing number of adults to move back in with their parents, the New York Times reports. The move is difficult for both sides, experts say, as the offspring chafe at new restrictions and struggle with feelings of failure,...

Ashamed Families Behind Killings of Gay Iraqis

Matt Cantor — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:35:14 CDT

As security improves in Iraq, gay residents have embraced a new sense of freedom—and as a result, some 25 males thought to be homosexual have been murdered in Baghdad’s Sadr City in the past two months, the New York Times reports. The victims are usually found shot, sometimes with...

Recession Squeezes 'Grandfamilies'

Rob Quinn — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 11:52:41 CDT

The recession is putting a serious strain on the safety net millions of American grandparents provide for their grandkids, the Wall Street Journal reports. The number of children who live in a household headed by a grandparent has been rising for decades, but older workers are finding it tough to...