More Children in Broken Families

A major study of childhood in the UK reveals, “The number of children living with both their parents by the time they start secondary school has collapsed since the sixties… 61 per cent of 11-year-olds share a home with both parents, compared with 90 per cent in 1969” (The Times, November 28, 2014). The study also reports “Those with both parents under one roof report higher levels of happiness than those whose parents separated. Children who have only ever had a lone parent are the second happiest group… More than a quarter of 11-year-olds in lone and step-parent families have behavioural problems, compared with just over one in ten of those in homes with two natural parents” (ibid.). 

While separated families are not the fault of children, it is the children who suffer from the decision by parents to divorce—which is one reason “God… hates divorce” (Malachi 2:16). It is sobering to see how modern studies reinforce the importance of the family structure that God created—one father and one mother living together to raise a family (Genesis 2:24; 1 Timothy 3:2). God gave these instructions to provide blessings to any who would obey this advice—because God’s way works!

To learn how to build a happy marriage and avoid divorce, read God’s Plan for Happy Marriage.