Is the American Family, an endangered species? According to Terry Harris, single father and educator, it is and he would like it added to the endangered species list. He came up with the idea while teaching about the decline of the American Family, and decided to send a letter to several members of Congress in an attempt to get them to pay attention to the decline of society, which he believes stems from the decline of the American Family.

Feeling that out of wedlock births are greatly contributing to the breakdown of society, he points out the statistics found in the U.S. Center for Marriage and Family study, which was released back in November of 2005, for children being raised in a one parent, or stepparent home, versus those of children whom are being raised in an intact two parent household. Children living in an non-intact family have significantly higher rates of difficulty with all levels of education, starting in pre-kindergarten and going all the way up to college level.

Preschool aged children from broken homes were three times more likely to suffer from attention deficit disorders, such as ADD, or ADHD, suffered more physical health problems, and were also less likely to be read to, or given extra help with learning, such as letter recognition.

The study also pointed out that children who were living a single, or stepparent home by the time that they had reached age ten, were more than twice as likely to be arrested by the time they had reached age fourteen. YIKES!

So, is Harris right? Is the decline of the American Family, truly the decline of society? Are more single parent households, leading us down a path of destruction as a generation of neglected, hyperactive latchkey children are raising themselves? Or is Harris simply a jaded single parent, who feels that life would have been better, or easier, if his family had stayed intact, and is trying to place blame on society for his own failure to keep his family together?