Pew Social & Demographic Trends » Parenthood

Record Share of New Mothers are College Educated

Gretchen Livingston and D’Vera Cohn — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:55:29 +0000

Overview Mothers with infant children1 in the U.S. today are more educated than they ever have been. In 2011, more than six-in-ten (66%) had at least some college education, while 34% had a high school diploma or less and just 14% lacked a high school diploma, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of [...]

Modern Parenthood

Kim Parker and Wendy Wang — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 04:00:45 +0000

Overview The way mothers and fathers spend their time has changed dramatically in the past half century. Dads are doing more housework and child care; moms more paid work outside the home. Neither has overtaken the other in their “traditional” realms, but their roles are converging, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of [...]

Modern Parenthood Slideshow

Andrea Caumont — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 04:00:07 +0000

The way mothers and fathers spend their time has changed dramatically in the past half century.

Women, Work and Motherhood

Kim Parker — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 20:38:10 +0000

A sampler of recent Pew Research survey findings.

A Tale of Two Fathers

Gretchen Livingston and Kim Parker — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 19:59:16 +0000

In the last 50 years, fathers have become much more involved in the day-to-day lives of the children they live with. During that same time period, though, the share of fathers living apart from their children has risen dramatically, to 27% in 2010.

For Millennials, Parenthood Trumps Marriage

Wendy Wang and Paul Taylor — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 16:00:13 +0000

Today’s 18 to 29 year olds – members of the so-called Millennial Generation – see parenthood and marriage differently than today’s thirty-somethings (members of Generation X) did back when they were in their late teens and twenties, according to a new analysis of Pew Research Center survey findings. Unlike their older counterparts, Millennials value parenthood much more than marriage.

The Public Renders a Split Verdict On Changes in Family Structure

Rich Morin — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:59:14 +0000

The American public is sharply divided in its judgments about the sweeping changes in the structure of the American family that have unfolded over the past half century. About a third generally accepts the changes; a third is tolerant but skeptical; and a third considers them bad for society.

Interactive: Attitudes about the Changing American Family

Pew Social Trends Staff — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:00:04 +0000

The American public is sharply divided in its judgments about the sweeping changes in the structure of the American family that have unfolded over the past half century.

The Decline of Marriage And Rise of New Families

Pew Social Trends Staff — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 05:05:24 +0000

The pre-eminent family unit of the mid-20th century—mom, dad and the kids—no longer has the stage to itself. A variety of new arrangements have emerged, giving rise to a broader and evolving definition of what constitutes a family.

Childlessness Up Among All Women; Down Among Women with Advanced Degrees

Gretchen Livingston and D’Vera Cohn — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 04:00:00 +0000

Nearly one-in-five American women ends her childbearing years without having borne a child, compared with one-in-ten in the 1970s. While childlessness has risen for all racial and ethnic groups, and most education levels, it has fallen over the past decade for women with advanced degrees.