My cousin became a single mom last year. I don't know the other 1,714,642...

Families are diverse. I get that. I experience this diversity among my friends, neighbors, colleagues and family members. Any one of us can look within our own circle of humanity and see families of all shapes and sizes--one parent, two parent, married, unmarried--who are wonderfully dedicated to their children (or not), and who are thriving (or struggling) at a particular point in time. And whenever the media or the wonks wring their hands over the declining numbers of married parent families, I hear about someone's sister who became president of a bank while raising her son on her own (and doing just fine thank you very much), or the friend who got tired of waiting for Mr. Right and conceived through sperm donation, or the neighbor couple who aren't really sure enough to tie the knot but are very good parents to their baby girl.

These personal stories are offered as a counterpoint to national statistics that warn of increased risks to child well-being as married parent families become a thing of the past. But one does not negate the other--both the personal stories and the national statistics are likely true.

We will always find among us parents with enough resilience to overcome adversity, but the national data tell us that, on average, raising children outside of a stable two parent family increases the adversity that parents will need to overcome. I believe in embracing all children and their families, but we also need to acknowledge that some paths into parenthood are more perilous than others--for both parents and their children.