Less and Less Is It All in the Family

The census has written a new definition of family. Married with children applies to only 27% of the households in California. The traditional nuclear unit--Mom and Dad and baby makes makes three--is disappearing.

Marriage remains in vogue for slightly more than half of adults. But only half of those couples have children. In those homes, family means two.

Living alone is also on the increase. The federal tally discovered a growing number of never-married, divorced, separated or widowed men and women. Solitaire is often their style at home, but many are now choosing to live with friends and relatives in new combinations that feel like family.

What does this mean for children? Two out of three California youngsters live with both parents, but that is likely to change. No census count was needed to determine that the number of single-parent families is growing. For 20% of the state’s children, family means living alone with Mom, or increasingly with Dad.

A surprising number of children--960,000--live with neither parent. Most of these youngsters live with a relative, typically a grandparent who has inherited what has become an increasingly common burden--raising someone else’s children. In fact, 287,000 children live with people other than relatives.

These new configurations will require changes such as more day care, parental leave and flexible schedules. The assumptions will change too. That’s because the greatest change is what we now call family.