[originaltext] US FAMILIES TODAY In the early d

US FAMILIES TODAY
   In the early days of America, the family held together for economic reasons./Father, mother and children all worked together to build the pioneer family or family business./But today, about one out of three marriages ends in divorce,/and more and more of them involve children./ The divorce rate in America is still the highest in the world,/but 75% of the women and 83% of the men who divorce remarry within 3 years./ The children from the broken families join up to produce a new kind of unit called the blended family. / About 18 million children are now living with their step-brothers and sisters in such an arrangement./
   Perhaps the most significant trend today is toward the single-parent household./Of all children under 18, 17% are now living with only one parent./Business and government officials are looking for new ways/to help parents meet their family responsibilities as well as to increase their income./