Single—parent Families
Today we tell about the major change in the American family．It is the increase in the number of families with only one parent．
______(1)One of the reasons for this is the increasing number of women who have children without being married．The United States Census Bureau recently released a new report on the situation．——(2)．It said 24 percent of them had at least one child．Almost 4 million unmarried women in the United States are mothers．This is an increase of almost 60 percent in the past 10 years．
______(3)In the past，women were expected to marry and remain home with their children．They depended on their husbands to eam money to suppon the family．Expels say women were pushed into marriage by many parts of Ameficas society．______(4)．
______(5)．Thev say American women have fewer economic reasons for marrying than they did years ago．This isbecause more women work Outside the home today than in the past，and there is less of difference between the earnings of men and women in the United States．Other experts believe there is social and cultural explanation for the increase in unmarried mothers in America．One explanation is that the woman’s rights movement gave many women a new teeling of indeDendence．Another explanation is the society is more willing to accept unmarried mothers than it did in the past．Unmatried mothers and their children no longer live in shame．

About 22 percent of American children now live with only one parent．
B. Experts have tried to explain the reasons：for the increase．
C. The report included women between the ages of l 8 and 44 who have never been married．
D. Experts say this is not true today．
E. A Woman’s family expected her to be married，so did religious groups，customs and laws．
F. There has been much debate in the United States about the single—parent family．