New Evidence: The Success Sequence Works

People who have filed getting education and a full-time job and then number four kids are much more likely to flourish and economically limited their late 20s and 30s. This is family policy with NC family Pres. John Weston thanks for joining us this week for family policy matters.

Today will be discussing at topic that plays a significant role in the well-being and success of young adults in today's culture, but in order to achieve financial stability and success in a number of different areas of life, or just contends that young adults would be wise to follow what he refers to as the millennial success sequence now. This involves pursuing a specific sequence of life events, including marriage and children that helps to prepare and position young adults to experience greater stability and success later in life. Our guest today is Dr. Bradford Wilcox Senior fellow at the Institute for family studies director of the National marriage Project at the University of Virginia and a visiting scholar at the American enterprise Institute where he conducts research on marriage, cohabitation, fatherhood, and the welfare of children. Today we will be discussing his new report.

The millennial success sequence, marriage, kids, and the success sequence among young adults.

Dr. Wilcox walking the family policy matters.

It's great to have you back on the show Johnston to be here today.

Now, according to social science Brad and statistics we have now had a point in American history where a majority of millennial's are deciding to have children before they get married if they do get married at all, and needless to say, this is quite concerning. Is this an intentional decision to avoid or delay marriage or is it a byproduct of our current culture and seemingly popular lifestyle choices that are being made by the millennial generation not great question important is that one caveat though to this matter is that what we do is look at, what millennial's, who become parents have done to date and because millennial's account number begins and then late 30s and reset millennial's are having their first from now on and that those models do have those kids in there. So as we can look at millennial's problems are come back and take 10 years of gridlock, engineers might just probably around 45% millennial for other kids outside emerged. I was still a big number in the question you're asking why what I would say is there really three things. One thing is that a lot of millennial's work and of drifting interrelationships or drifting them through parenthood and not not be delivered about what's happening� Not be deliberate about enough cookie about sextant parenthood. Kids and birds, letting things happen method course. No problem on the flywheel of part of the dynamic of offending overseers look critically for less educated millennial and for guys love them and not in a great spot professionally or workwise and so both very enough from the girlfriend's reluctant to go and get married. But you're not selling like God never checks in the 3rd� would we would want to just point out here is step four.

A number of lower-income couples are means tested welfare system tends to penalize marriage for a substantial minority and become a calculus canal that you think about when no if I wanted to. The board paid for through through Medicaid or something else that's me not to get married until after becomes a log such more than ever to be seen from a cultural and economic get up off the bowl, combine to bring to this commitment that we talked about today is your research discovered about the relationship between these lifestyle decisions regarding marriage and childbearing in the financial situation of young adult.

What we're seeing here is that you develop to at least a high school degree, and preferably the college of your vocational training. What are you looking at IT or the vent manufacturer becoming a no skinnier a certified nursing system to get that done first and then have full-time work with a working 40 hours a week on something meaningful and important and then get married and then have kids goes in the loft was very low risk of poverty owns 3% to be searched by contracting adults were not on that sequence. In particular, ultraclean baby carriage before marriage are more likely to experience poverty will experience economic distress, and we think that's the case because what happened oftentimes is kind of drifting in the parenthood and drifting this for starting a family. You often as a couple. Don't stay together and so course that leads to often does not contribute financially to the family household. The mom's been struggling more financially and also got to be a pain child reports into goes on to Mary Frankston was the second coming, the fence, losing substantial share of income every no paycheck to pay for that child in a different helpful to the plan, making here is that not following sequence to current marriage and parenthood tends to put millennial's younger adults today in more precarious financial position because it is a downside in the household or know the man is paying for child in a different helpful and book close to scenarios of obvious negative economic consequences. You talk about use drifting into these roles as opposed to being more intentional. Why is that a me what what are some of the cultural circumstances that have led millennial's to sort of just drift into these major life decisions versus being more intentional about them or nothing commitment culture. To paraphrase the Nike globe of mortgage and just do it. Basically amicable, living in the moment. Oftentimes when it comes to relationship when it comes to childbearing it comes to other things in the amount of a long-term perspective where they kind of theater forced to order or on their own terms, laws, look what I do now what what I do and in six months what happens to me and I went from having a child in all these things have a big impact on the long-term future in the future of my you know my kids aren't judgmental and so I think is a, short-term realism, but encouraged by the pop culture also another problem are facing is that today we don't have many times, long-term job stability if you're going to work for smoking 50s 1960s. Michael General Motors was for IBM and authorities worker bees work as acute have a job for life and yet a sentence like your future and your security more comfortable. Go ahead and get married and have kids say that security is often not there are more hesitant to go and walk in on a militia, marriage, family, and so that's that's just part of the tougher new reality that we have today are in our society and I think it more cognizant of how much you depend upon their spouse. They do their job and live on their spouse or on their life notes help them out and so I think that unfortunately Tennessee's remarriage of me. You got all your economic ducks in a row and I would say actually is recognize that the right marriage with the right family in the next election be a support to you know in today's more you know, unstable and precarious economic environment talk a lot. Going to select your given electronic. People face today is that much more important to have a spouse in the corner to have your parents and your corners all possible to have your in-laws in the corner and that's more like it happened when you are pulling on it been better or just take some physics. If you find a good person know if if you're certain about them that I think marriage becomes a very good thing.

Think about that.

She can be a source of security in today's times your listening policy matters resource to listen to our radio show online resources have a place of persuasion in your community to our website family.org. In speaking of this longer-term viewpoint and I think that so critically important for us it's not just the millennial's with young adults that were talking about now, but the future generations. What do your years of research tell you the consequences of these visions and actions are going to have by young adults.

All the children who were born into the homes of young unmarried parents, especially in areas of health, education, finances and other critical factors that are are such an important part of future success. I think it's important to realize that we put the church after marriage much more likely to stay together no as a family and their kids molecular growth in a stable marriage context.

The people heard that 100 marriages end in divorce little on the true it's closer to full intent and if you do things like for instance you go to church together got divorced without even even more so people need to recognize that when it comes to raising up kids that marriage provides no security for the next generation and that security is important because kids molecular enforcement out the facts for both parents and the role modeling of of father in the household to other factors like ethnicity, education and employment affect the financial success of young adults, really, regardless of their marital or parenthood status. We see in this new research is that the success sequence works for basically everyone matter if you're white or black or Hispanic. The medic from a low income background in combat, but we see is that people who have all the sequence of getting education in a full-time job and then nearing the four kids are much more likely to be flourishing know economically when they could know their late 20s and 30s and how do you research how do young adults who have delayed so marriage and childbirth compared to their counterparts who have entered into one or both of these really milestones of life. Only your own will. That's a complicated question in one sentence, and that is because kids are yes all the kids are expensive and certainly matters you have kids in their drug marriage health. Spending substantial share of your income on children. What we do find it that you millennial's, who are married with kids are the ones are most likely be flourishing economically and so having that ability to pull income toward absent specialized job all seven. Today's Frank often does the financial support. Much of young parents, but if your in-laws gives you important resources was well so we do find in this new research began the moment most remarriage with or without children are the ones were doing better than their peers. And that's true for better educated and less addictive, white, black and Hispanic online, it's just a story for millennial's across-the-board marriage matters for them financially but it is so important number of sources community public policy efforts can be made to educate young people about these factors and encourage them to choose this success. Sequence of marriage and then children for future success will constantly live in a world where college-educated American student pretty good job of getting married and stay married and have nurtured marriage, got the message after the divorce of seven ladies that movie the best thing for them and for their kids to embrace a pretty conventional install for the family that messages not looking to filter down in recent years to working-class and poor Americans. And then I think having some kind of public campaign that would top left importance of getting through education working stable. He ended up getting married and having kids to be very helpful in giving them some ideas and some support and encouragement to pursue this success.

Sequence people are skeptical about this kind of idea actually achieve the goal of success in recent years with public campaigns around driving public campaigns around age, pregnancy, and the make progress on driving the progress on things like this success is well about this conversation is prompting our listeners to let you get more information about it. Where can I go to learn more about this topic about your new research about research that you done over the years, all marriage on the success sequence and how they might be able to engage young adults and to provide information to them.

Even that will help them be encouraged and to understand the value of the success sequence but to talk about that. Studies.org is a good place to go for research studies, which is below the cosponsors of this new report on a lot of other good items. Research on the website and the Council for the intruder. Wilcox MMP well great welcome Dr. Brian Wilcox unfortunately were out-of-town for this week that I want to thank you so much for being with us on family policy matters and for your great research and efforts to encourage young people to get married to live successful and to have children in this order.

So thank you so much done today sending to family policy matters. The production of NC family to listen to our radio show online, and for more valuable resources and information about issues important to families in North Carolina to my website and see family.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook and