Marriage and Family in America

In this post, I'll just be going over some general information about the family in America.
As humans, we are social creatures and have a great need to be around people that care for us. A family is a perfect place to fulfill our needs to be connected and loved. There are so many wonderful things about the family and what it can do for us psychologically and socially. "Family" is something that is understood by everyone -- we all have a definition for it and know what being part of a family entails. However, there are some popular myths about family life that I would like to put to rest. First off, we have not lost the extended family. We are still connected to the other generations in our family, and the percentage of families that have in multigenerational homes rose to 16.1 since 2008 after it dropped for a while. Also, opposites don't attract. We're more likely to marry someone with our same values, beliefs, lifestyles, and background, and that marriage is more likely to be a successful marriage. But I'm not saying there aren't exceptions. This is just a general statement. Also, people don't get married because they love each other. Yes, this is a factor, but there are a lot of other factors as well that we either consciously or subconsciously take into consideration. Another myth (that I hear especially a lot) is happily married people don't have conflict. This is simply not true. The "happily ever after" that we think about is not realistic because there will be varying amounts of disagreements and differences. My parents are happily married, but they still argue over things sometimes. Am I to assume they don't love each other and that they aren't happily married? Of course not. Don't be led astray by this prevalent myth. Myths such as these can set unrealistic expectations, ruin good relationships, and make us unhappy in the long run in general. So it's important to seek out the truth for yourself. There are many other myths that are just as dangerous, but I'll move onto my next topic.
I've talked about myths, and now I'll talk about some facts. There have been ten social trends of the family that has taken root recently. Cohabiting, childbearing age, premarital sex, the age of marriage, living alone, and working moms are all trends that have increased in numbers in the last little while. Meanwhile, fertility rates have gone down. Also, divorce rates have been steady after they increased in number for a while. Some of these trends are negatively affecting the family system. The family is such an important topic. There are so many benefits and strengths to marriages and families. I encourage you to find ways to strengthen your own families and recognize the wonderful things about them.
The book Marriage and Family by Robert H. Lauer has many great insights about family if you are interested.