For the past forty years there’s been a concerted effort to deny the growing evidence that marriage matters. Families with married parents are more likely to provide stable homes for children. Children in single parent families are less likely to thrive than those with two parents, particularly married parents. Family structure is one of the key factors in predicting the future lives of our children, yet most are still determined to ignore what they see as a most unpalatable truth. For all the talk about gay marriage, these are the marriage patterns that have most impact on our society, and if we take the future of children seriously, it’s time to put this back on the agenda. Bettina Arndt was formerly a clinical psychologist and one of Australia’s first sex therapist. She now works as an online dating coach and writes on social issues for many Australian publications.Kay Hymowitz is an American writer, researcher, and is the William E. Simon Fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. She is the author of four books, including Manning Up: How the rise of women has turned men into boys.Kay Hymowitz appears with the support of The Centre for Independent Studies.