In the 1800s, more than 75 percent of American households included children. By 1960, slightly fewer than half did. In 2000, fewer than 33 percent included children. The Census Bureau projects that by 2010, families with children will account for little more than one-quarter of all households -- the lowest share in at least a century.

According to a recent survey of our changing attitudes towards marriage by the nonpartisan National Marriage Project at Rutgers University:

• nearly 70 percent of Americans disagree with the statement "the main purpose of marriage is rearing children";
• more than a third of children are born outside of marriage; and
• Since 1960, there has been an 850-percent increase in the number of cohabiting couples who live with children. Today, about 40 percent of unmarried-couple households include one or more children.

To read the full report, see http://marriage.rutgers.edu.

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