A new review of family life in the UK, published by the Nuffield Foundation, found that the majority of children under five now grow up in a household where both parents work, reflecting increases in state-funded care such as the 30-hours funded entitlement.
It cites data showing that 66% of women whose youngest child is two-years-old were employed in 2018 compared with 49% in 1996.
Family structures are also changing. Nearly two thirds (61%) of children spent their childhood in families with married parents in 2019, compared to 71% in 1996, as public attitudes towards parenthood preceding marriage have ‘relaxed significantly’. In 2012 41% of people said people who want children ought to get married compared with 71% in 1989. Conversely, just 14% of people in 1989 thought same sex relations were ‘not wrong at all’, compared with 66% in 2018.
The number of same-sex families with children has risen in recent years but still only represents just under 1% of all families with children. The review notes there is not enough data about blended families, separated families and non-resident parents to understand trends in these groups.
Mothers are having babies later, and the number of children women have is increasingly linked to income and education levels. Latest data cited in the report shows that the number of children women of childbearing age have is at the lowest level on record (1.9 children per 45-year-old in 2016). Women with lower levels of education tend to have larger families, with much greater risk of poverty as a result.
Teenage pregnancy has however halved over the past two decades, and the proportion of lone-parent families has stabilised since the 2000s at around 22%.
The research also adds to the warnings about the toll the pandemic will take on the most vulnerable, noting that over a third of families (37%) where the youngest child is under five were living in poverty before the pandemic struck. Nearly half of lone parent families are living in poverty, and this figure is only likely to increase with the economic fallout from Covid-19. This also goes for the BAME community, where rates of child poverty are already higher.
The pandemic has led to a shift in parental roles, with fathers doing more housework and childcare as a result - nearly twice as many hours as in 2014/5. However, mothers still look after children 2.3 hours of the day more than fathers and do 1.7 hours more housework, while being more likely to have either lost their jobs or been furloughed.
The report also notes that these shifts come against a backdrop of uncertainty and risk for the childcare sector, saying ‘the pre-existing challenge of sustaining childcare provision and improving its quality is particularly acute in the current context, with implications for children’s welfare and parents’ ability to return to work.’
Carey Oppenheim, author of the review and Early Childhood Lead at the Nuffield Foundation said: ‘Being a small child today is a strikingly different experience to a generation ago.
‘These changes are fundamental – impacting where children are looked after and by whom and how they are spending their time. The early years are such an important stage of life that it is essential we understand fully what has changed, the inequalities between families and what we should be doing to enhance the well-being and life chances of young children over and above the confines of early years policy.’
The report is the first evidence review from the Nuffield foundation’s changing face of early childhood series to investigate research areas and make policy recommendations.
- Read the full report: How are the lives of families with young children changing?