If the twinkling lights of traffic outside of LAX is any indicator, a lot of people are flying home for the holidays. But this home for the holidays may look a lot less Burl Ives and a lot more Mariah Carey. A recent report from Pew Research Center found that less than half of kids in the U.S. today live in what's considered a traditional family, you know, the type that graced Christmas cards in the 1960s. 46% of youngsters under 18 live in a household with two married, heterosexual parents in their first marriage. In terms of percentages, the largest chunk of children live with two parents in their first marriage (46%), and just behind that, a single parent or same sex household (34%). Two married parents, with one or both remarried, clocks in at third (15%), and children with no parents at home, such as children raised by a legal guardian, grandparent, etc., came in at 5%. There's been a lot of changes to traditional families in the last few decades, with a myriad of factors--not limited to--delaying marriage, single parenting/children outside of marriage (which is at 41% compared to just 5% in 1960), divorce rates, remarriage, and cohabitation.
That means gathered around the Christmas tree, you're more likely to see mom's second husband, or a single father and his children, or your step family and first family. Whatever they look like, we hope you have a fanatic holiday with whoever you call family!
Pew Research Center, 2014
