Recent family-related news included measures in Chechnya forcing divorced couples to reunite, a study finding that shared custody is positive for children, release of a book focused on strategies couples can use to improve their marriage, research findings concerning the many positives of “unmarried” life, and finally the ACLU takes on Michigan after same sex couples are refused the right to adopt.
Chechnya Pushes Divorced Couples to Reunite ‘For the Children’ Andrew E. Kramer, The New York Times, August 26, 2017 Authorities in Russia’s Chechnya Republic are claiming success in an unconventional, sweeping campaign to compel people who have divorced to reunite, for the sake of the children — and, they say, to help in the fight against terrorism. The commission, known as the Council for Harmonizing Marriage and Family Relations, says it has over the past two months brought back together 948 couples, some after years of separation. The family reunions, which began within weeks of the worst of the crackdown on gay men, have provoked a backlash from divorced people who say they are being forced to live with estranged former partners, but they are lauded in the local state-controlled media.
If You Want to Help Young Kids After Divorce, Share Custody of Them Rebecca Zamon, Huffington Post, September 11, 2017 Shared custody seems to have positive results for both the kids and the parents, which is what everyone is looking for. As parents continue to divorce, finding methods that help your whole family process the situation and move forward can only be a good thing.
Try These ‘Love Hacks’ to Fix Your Marriage John Tierney, The New York Times, September 18, 2017 After studying thousands of couples, the psychologist Eli Finkel has an explanation for the decline in people’s satisfaction with their marriages over the past four decades: It’s a matter of emotional supply and demand. What to do? You can devote a lot more effort to satisfying your partner, and Dr. Finkel tells you how to do that in his new book,
How Unmarried Americans are Changing Everything Stephanie Coontz, CNN, September 21, 2017 Why aren’t millennials getting married? New research shows that most never-married individuals, whatever their age, lead happy, healthy and helpful lives. On average, unmarried individuals have a wider network of friends than married couples and visit more frequently with neighbors. They also provide more practical help to parents, other relatives and coworkers than do their married counterparts.
ACLU Sues Michigan After Same-Sex Couples Seeking to Adopt Are Rejected Isabel Dobrin, NPR, September 23, 2017 The ACLU is suing Michigan’s Department of Health and Human Services and the Children’s Services Agency on behalf of the Dumonts and another couple who wanted to adopt children but were turned away based on their sexual orientation. Kristy Dumont said she hopes the case helps pave the way for other same-sex couples being denied as foster and adoptive families. Adoption by same-sex couples is legal in all 50 states.
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