SST said: "Take a look at the stats on single mothers sometime. Then explain to me how that arrangement is in the best interests of the child."
It’s been a while since I geeked out on divorce stats, but as I recall, the outcomes of never-married mothers and divorced mothers are quite distinct, so you should not be pointing to poor single mother outcomes to demonstrate why divorced mothers should get less custody.
By the way, this is interesting:
pewsocialtrends.org/2013/07/02/the-rise-of-single-fathers/
"A record 8% of households with minor children in the United States are headed by a single father, up from just over 1% in 1960, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Decennial Census and American Community Survey data.
“The number of single father households has increased about ninefold since 1960, from less than 300,000 to more than 2.6 million in 2011.1 In comparison, the number of single mother households increased more than fourfold during that time period, up to 8.6 million in 2011, from 1.9 million in 1960.”
“There are some notable differences between single mothers and single fathers. Single fathers are more likely than single mothers to be living with a cohabiting partner (41% versus 16%). Single fathers, on average, have higher incomes than single mothers and are far less likely to be living at or below the poverty line—24% versus 43%. Single fathers are also somewhat less educated than single mothers, older and more likely to be white.”
The bit about single fathers being more likely to cohabit is interesting, because that’s a typical Red Pill/MRA bogeyman–that single mothers are all shacked up with random men.
“Overall, two-thirds (67%) of households with children are headed by two married parents; in 1960, this share was 92%.”
“Some experts suggest that changes in the legal system have led to more opportunities for fathers to gain at least partial custody of children in the event of a breakup, as well.”
“The educational attainment of single father householders is markedly lower than that of married father householders. About one-fifth (19%) of single dads lack a high school diploma, while just 10% of married fathers lack one. Among single mothers, this share is 15%. Equally dramatic differences emerge at the other end of the education spectrum; just 17% of single fathers (and 18% of single mothers) have a bachelor’s degree, compared with 40% of married fathers.”
“In terms of household financial status, single fathers are much better off than single mothers, and much worse off than married fathers. Median adjusted annual income5 for a single dad household of three is about $40,000—a far cry from the $70,000 median among households headed by married fathers, but much higher than that of households headed by single mothers, where the median adjusted annual income for a three-person household is only $26,000.”
" Single fatherhood is generally more prevalent among younger, less educated, poorer and non-white fathers."
“The prevalence of single fatherhood is closely linked to educational level; the more education a father has, the less likely he is to head a single father household. While about one-fourth (26%) of fathers lacking a high school diploma are single fathers, the share drops to 22% for fathers with a high school degree. Among dads with some college, 17% are single fathers, and just 7% of fathers with a bachelor’s degree fall into this category.”
Okay, I will stop quoting–but it’s very interesting!
