Parent and Child 2006 Partnership and Parenthood Contexts of Childrens Lives

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Parent and Child 2006Partnership and
Parenthood Contexts of Childrens Lives

• Kathleen Kiernan
• University of York

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Changing demography of family life

• Less marriage more cohabitation
• More babies born outside of marriage
• Increased divorce and re-partnering
• More lone parents and complex families

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British tendencies

• Higher levels of youthful parenthood
• Low propensities to marry and high levels of
  childlessness
• More fragile unions
• both cohabiting and marital
• More solo motherhood from birth
• More separated families and cross-household
  parenting

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Percentage of unions surviving 5 years after the
birth of the first child
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British tendencies

• Higher levels of youthful parenthood
• Low propensities to marry and high levels of
  childlessness
• More fragile unions
• both cohabiting and marital
• More solo motherhood from birth
• More separated families and cross-household
  parenting

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Partnership context of the parents at the birth
of the child

• Married 60
• Cohabiting 25
• Solo 15
• 7 in a relationship
• 8 not in a relationship
• A hierarchy of bonding or connectedness

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Odds ratios for smoking, breastfeeding and
depression by partnership status at birth
Source Kiernan and Pickett, Social Science and
Medicine 2006
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Partnership context of the parents at the birth
of the child

• Married 60
• Cohabiting 25
• Solo 15
• 7 in a relationship
• 8 not in a relationship
• A hierarchy of bonding or connectedness

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Family transitions birth to age 3
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Family type
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Looking inside families with 3 year olds -
Poverty

• 27 living in poverty
• Poverty defined as 60 per cent of the national
  median income before housing costs

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Family settings and in poverty
Millennium Cohort Study 2003-4
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Looking inside families with 3 year olds

• Family settings
• Poverty
• How happy is the relationship
• Maternal Depression
• Aggression
• Child punishment Smacking and Shouting
• Childs cognitive development
• Childs behaviour

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Level of relationship happiness by family setting
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Level of relationship happiness by poverty
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Level of depression by family setting
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Level of depression by poverty
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Looking inside families with 3 year olds

• Family settings
• Poverty
• How happy is the relationship
• Maternal Depression
• Aggression
• Child punishment Smacking and Shouting
• Childs cognitive development
• Childs behaviour

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Use of Force
Millennium Cohort Study 2003-4
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Percentage smacked at least once a week
Millennium Cohort Study 2003-4
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Percentage shouted at daily
Millennium Cohort Study 2003-4
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Looking inside families with 3 year olds

• Family settings
• Poverty
• How happy is the relationship
• Maternal Depression
• Aggression
• Child punishment Smacking and Shouting
• Parenting family meals, bedtimes and watching
  television
• Childs cognitive development
• Childs behaviour

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Percent exhibiting delayed development in basic
concepts
Millennium Cohort Study 2003-4
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Percentage with behaviour problems
Millennium Cohort Study 2003-4
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Conclusion

• If the race is already halfway run even before
  children begin school, then we clearly need to
  examine what happens in the earliest years.
  Epsing-Andersen 2005

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