With Mother’s Day close behind us, we thought that now would be a good time to reflect on the defining characteristics, such as household composition, income and lifestyle, that make up today’s American family. We also want to take a closer look at the every day family dynamics which affect how our children are raised.

Listed below are some key findings on these timeless topics of interest:

• 30.4% of U.S. households include children 17 years or younger. This represents over 34 million total households which provide care to America’s future generations.
• 19% of households with children under 18 are married, 11% are single (separated/divorced/widowed) and 9% have never been married.
• Today the majority of households have some type of child-care inside their own homes. Group centers are next in popularity, followed by care in another home.
• There seems to be, over the first three periods, a growth in married families and a decline in single-parent households. Up until this past fall, married households grew three percentage points, from 17 million to almost 20 million total households.

Source: Experian Simmons National Consumer Study, Fall 2008, Full Year