The Guardian newspaper, in its story on the report, led with the attention-grabbing headline that children of unmarried parents are more likely to get worse results at school, develop serious illnesses and leave school at an early age. The article stopped short of concluding that unmarried parents might be damaging for children, but even so this is an unexpected viewpoint from the Guardian. Interestingly, the report didn’t highlight other findings of the ONS research, such as the impact of the North/South divide. Why pick up on the old chestnut of unmarried parents and leave the cliché of the North/South divide?
A closer look at the 112 page report goes on to explain that socio-economic reasons are likely to be the cause of these troubling statistics. The uncomfortable reality is that a child raised in poverty is likely to be disadvantaged in terms of health and education whereas a child with educated, wealthy parents is more likely to thrive. Perhaps the statistics simply reflect the fact that wealthier parents are more likely to be married. Poverty is more likely to be responsible for reduced health and educational expectations than a label on a relationship.
Peter Baughan