missy-1010 wrote:mls128 wrote:
It is best for children to have two married parents. Not an opinion but a fact look it up.
That’s right! That’s not saying two parents not legally married can raise kids, but it is true! Statistically these children tend to be better off.
Correlation is NOT the same thing as causation.
Marriage and childhood outcomes are CORRELATED. One does not CAUSE the other or increase the likelihood of the other.
Married couples are more likely to have been together longer, make the intentional choice to be together and have their shit together to organize a wedding and plan a child that is wanted. They also are more likely to be higher socio-economic status.
Unmarried couples are more likely to be together because of an accidental pregnancy or not be sure of their commitment to one another. If they are committed to one another they might be financially unstable and unable to afford the wedding they want. They also tend to be lower socio-economic status. Statistics are picking up on common threads in the samples.
SES, financial stability, satisfaction in the relationship and whether or not a child was wanted/planned are the factors that impact a child's well being. Not whether their parents are married. Take one of the unmarried couples that are struggling and marry them: their problems don't go away. Take a financially stable couple who plans their child but isn't married: their child doesn't magically develop problems because they aren't married. If things changed, that would be causation. The fact that not being married parents and having poor childhood outcomes often happen to the same people is correlation.
No amount of "but my parents did this" and "but my kids are fine" is relevant here. Kyra and Oscar's problems will not go away if they get married. But they are contributing to the correlation because they are not married and are raising children without being mature enough or stable in their relationship. Not being married is not CAUSING them to be shitty parents.