Unmarried families are characterized by a man and woman who have children but have never married.  These couples have a variety of reasons for not walking the aisle.  "It's only a piece of paper", they say about a wedding certificate.  "My parents divorced and I don't want to go through that again" they protest.  "We're waiting to see if this will work out" they proclaim.

You see it everywhere.  Last week's "Dear Abby" featured a woman seeking advice about her adult son and girlfriend who had a baby.  The son and girlfriend lived at their respective parents' homes and the writer asked Abby which place the baby should reside.  "Each set of grandparents has everything the child needs, such as a crib, changing table etc."  Not surprisingly, Abby's response cast no stones.  She simply suggested the baby continue living where it had been living since birth so there would be less disruption.  Nice. Neat. Non-Judgmental.

My response would have been a little different.  Why aren't they married? I would have asked.  These parents need to grow up, get a job, and assume the adult responsibilities for raising a child.  But apparently they didn't need to (thanks to Mom and Dad), or want to.  Like so many today.

According to birth and census statistics, the unwed birth rate has risen steadily in recent decades to over a third.  That means for every three children both in America, one of them does not have married parents.  Unmarried birth was once seen as a disgrace
and embarrassment.  No more.  In our modern day efforts to be loving and accepting we embrace the unmarried parents and child without a hint of moral tone.  "It would be wrong to heap guilty on them" we think.  These births were once referred to as "out of wedlock".  No more.  That terminology is too disparaging so we simply call them single parent births.

Are unmarried families such a dangerous thing?  You bet they are.  Take a look at the results of research recently reported in the London Times.  Researcher Harry Benson determined that three quarters of all family breakdowns affecting young children in the
United Kingdom now involve unmarried parents.

Benson told the Times, "Children born to unmarried parents are already likely to have more problems at school, work or with their wellbeing. If their parents then split up, the outcomes can be worse still because family breakdown itself is associated with all sorts
of problems such as crime, truancy, poverty and relationship difficulties."

The same thing is true in the United States.  Our unmarried birth rate, coupled with our unacceptable divorce rate, will unravel the fabric of our society.  If we want to establish a firm foundation for our children there is no better way than building a strong, married family.