Committed Unmarried Parents On the Rise… But Marriage Still an Option

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The “baby’s-daddy” situation is admittedly a big part of why over 40% of births in the United States are the product of unmarried parents. You might be surprised to learn, however, that the age range of women that saw the biggest increase in unmarried births over the last few years has been the 25-30 bracket, indicating that more and more couples are opting to forgo the aisle completely when deciding to start a family. These “committed unmarrieds”, as they’ve started to be called, have become a growing demographic in American family life and will continue to be so – you may even be in such a relationship. Studies are showing such couples, especially ones with children, tend to stay together longer. But there are some positive aspects of marriage that should be considered even by parents put off by the ritual.

Maybe it was just a money thing, or maybe the problems started when you insisted on your potential fianc?e browsing only black diamond engagement rings and his traditionalist attitudes postponed marital plans. Either way, or any way, parenthood wasn’t postponed, and you made the conscious decision as a couple to either forget about marriage or put it off until it was more convenient. Well, I don’t know about you but in my experience there sure isn’t much time to plan for a wedding once kids enter the picture! More times than not couples who aren’t married by the time they have children choose to stay that way.

But what about all the financial benefits that come with getting hitched? Forget the holy matrimony stuff, I’m talking about the tax deductions for being married with children, the potential health insurance savings you can net for the family, et cetera. Marriage equates to social stability, so the federal government gives you all sorts of incentives to wed. This is especially the case when you’re raising a family. Simply put, no matter how you feel about marriage as a factor in the development of family bonding, it still makes functional financial sense.

If you’re a part of the committed unmarried demographic of families, crunch the numbers and see if getting married, even if it’s in the local courthouse on a Monday afternoon, would mean big things for your family. And who knows, maybe this time around he’ll be more open about that hip engagement ring.