Today there is a lot of talk about what the word "Family" means.

Over all, 94 percent of the nation’s more than 73 million children were living with at least one biological parent, 8 percent lived with at least one stepparent, 2 percent lived with at least one adoptive parent, nearly 4 percent were living without either parent, and a little more than 2 percent were living with their grandparents only.

Other highlights from America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2008 include:

• The median age for men at first marriage was 27.4 years. For women, the median age at first marriage was 25.6.
• The percentage of family households with children under 18 in 2008 that had three or more of their own children present was 21 percent in both 1998 and 2008.
• The percentage of adults ages 45 to 49 who were married varied by race and ethnicity. For example, among women 45 to 49, 79 percent of Asians, 69 percent of white non-Hispanics, 62 percent of Hispanics and 43 percent of blacks were married.
• In 2008, 66.9 million opposite-sex couples lived together — 60.1 million were married, and 6.8 million were not.
• The United States had an estimated 5.5 million “stay-at-home” parents: 5.3 million mothers and 140,000 fathers.
• The percentage of children living with two parents varied by race and origin. Eighty-five percent of Asian children lived with two parents, as did 78 percent of white non-Hispanic children, 70 percent of Hispanic children and 38 percent of black children.
• About 9 percent of all children (6.6 million) lived in a household that included a grandparent. Twenty-three percent of children living with a grandparent had no parent present.
• In 2008, 6 percent of white non-Hispanic children lived in a household with a grandparent present, compared with 10 percent of Hispanic children, and 14 percent of both Asian and black children.

In 1970, 85 percent of children were living with two parents and 11 percent with their mother only, proportions that shifted to a little more than 70 percent and slightly more than 20 percent, respectively, in 1990.

With declining fertility rates and the aging of baby boomers, the percentage of families with their own child living at home decreased to 46 percent in 2008, from 52 percent in 1950, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The findings come from America’s Families and Living Arrangements: 2008, a collection of 2008 Current Population Survey (CPS) statistics on family and nonfamily households, characteristics of single-parent families, living arrangements of children and data on married and unmarried couples. The CPS has been conducted annually since 1940.

Decreases in the percentage of families with their own child under 18 at home reflect the aging of the population and changing fertility patterns,” said Rose Kreider, family demographer at the U.S. Census Bureau. “In 2008, not only were baby boomers old enough that most of their children were 18 and over, but they were having fewer kids than their parents, as well.”

In 1950, 52 percent of family households had their own child under 18. During the years when the baby boomers were young, this percentage increased, reaching 57 percent in the early 1960s. In 2008, however, when the baby boomers were about ages 44 to 62, and likely to be householders themselves, the percentage of families with a child had declined to 46 percent.

Among the nearly 19 million children living with their unmarried biological mothers, only 18 percent were living in households where the mother had a partner.

For African American children it is even higher, over 60% of all African American children grow up without their father.

Thankfully there are organizations such as the Florence Crittendon services to help build stronger families.

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