Andrew Walker of the Heritage Foundation wrote last week in conjunction with National Marriage Week:

"...Americans deserve to know the facts about marriage as an antidote to child poverty. That’s especially true of at-risk youth. How many times does a young person hear that she should stay in school, wear her seatbelt, and not smoke? Will she ever hear that marriage is important to her and her children’s welfare? Do taxpayers realize the significance of marriage for alleviating child poverty—or do they only hear messages about how much more we need to spend on welfare programs? That’s what National Marriage Week aims to change.

Policy can send important messages about the importance of marriage, but it doesn’t play the most important role.

Parents should personally communicate to their children the social and personal costs of unwed parenting—from economic hardships that can occur to the difficulty of raising a child alone.

The path to prosperity requires a robust marriage culture—it matters for both individuals and for America.