Kids from Married Parents do significantly better than those from Cohabitating parents

[drosophila]

According to Gloria Hunniford this morning on 'Heaven and Earth'. They were having a debate about marriage Vs commitment without marriage and Gloria announces that according to research (she didn't provide a source) kids do much better (not sure what she meant perhaps academically) if their parents are married than if they simply live together.

DP and I have been together for 18years and we have two kids. Are our kids worse off than say a couple who have been married for say 5 years. I'm not against marriage particularly just wonder where we would get the time to do it.

Anyone care to share their thoughts?

and Quootiepie, you are hilarious.

Interesting stuff from the aniseedy root vegetable. Always feel that enough remants of patriarchy remain in the system for me to justify my non-wish to get hitched position but then people like cod and my partner come along and mock me and I'm not so sure. Also partner seems to feel mildly hurt that I don't want to sometimes. I occasionally wish he was a woman so that i could marry him in order to allieviate his mild hurt but without patriarchy triumphing as a result.

you'll earn more than him soon - then he can be your dependant.

my husband rather likes "being a kept man"

told the mortgage advisor exactly that

the real question is, will my child's IQ go up 20 points if I nip down to the register office this Friday?

No, I didn't think so. It's not the wedding that makes the differance, it's the financial circumstances leading to the ability to pay for the wedding.

In my completely non-representative opinion.

im trying awfully hard not to offend people, while still trying to make a point

our wedding cost us £20. the guests (only parents and siblings) brought food for a buffet. T'was lovely.
(Not talking about the rights or wrongs of marriage here, just dislike this assumption that weddings have be lavish affairs)

That wasn't a dig at anyone btw, I haven't even read the thread! Sorry if I worried you Quootiepie

They don't have to be, GG, but most people spend what is a lot of money to them on their wedding.

If I get married it will be a very quick affair indeed, I'm not wearing a merangue for nobody!

Colditz- your 10:34 post - thats what I way trying to get across

I was trying

What about kids from divorced parents? Do they still do better than kids from cohabiting parents? If they do worse then surely that could be used as an arguement to not get married iyswim.

thats why i said if the research was done equally among more affluent married and unmarried couples, and less affluent married and unmarried couples it would be ... better.

Don't worry batters- am doing excel stuff assiduously, I promise.

Fennel at 09.18 sums it up for me......
be interested to see hwhat, if anything happens, legally...

RR - currently no.....(ie same sex only...)

I think the main reason DP and I have not gotten married is a lot to do with what fennel describes but as I said earlier having seen the difficulty that occured when DP's brother died leaving an unmarried partner and two kids behind without a will we both keep saying we should get married.

We talked about it again last night but got easily distracted by TV. The thing is we know the practical reasons for getting married but deep down I think we resent being forced to conform.

oh dropyy
book it
g o ONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Am with you on that dros, feels like my last act of rebellion.

Also, as fennel said, the distinction between kids of married parents v co-habiting is much greyer than that.

Funnily enough I never correct anyone when they call DP my husband and it doesn't bother me. Perhaps I am getting closer to conforming coa I'm sure it would have bothered me when I was younger.