Fifty years ago, only about 8 percent of babies in the United States were born to single women. Today that figure is over 40 percent. Although sociologists point to many reasons for the disturbing trend, a new study just presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, indicates the huge increase of babies born out-of-wedlock may, at least in part, be due to the way in which mainstream media portrays the lifestyles of the rich and famous.

Many moms and dads are conflicted about giving their children smartphones. On the one hand, they are useful for keeping families in contact and also getting information. On the other hand, they can distract their holders from personal interaction and become vehicles for sexting and other evils. What’s a parent to do?

Almost exactly seven years from the day Philip Zodhiates allegedly helped Lisa Miller flee the country with her young daughter Isabella, he is set to stand trial for “international parental kidnapping.”

Miller became a fugitive in 2009 after being embroiled in a custody battle with her former lesbian partner, Janet Jenkens. Zodhiates is charged with driving Miller and Isabella, then 7, to Rainbow Bridge in New York, where the mother and daughter escaped through Canada to an Amish Mennonite group in Nicaragua.

Each week, The World and Everything in It features a “Culture Friday” segment, in which Executive Producer Nick Eicher discusses the latest cultural news with John Stonestreet, president of the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Here is a summary of this week’s conversation.

New York’s highest court changed the definition of parenthood last week to include former partners with no biological or adoptive tie to a child.

The decision by the New York Court of Appeals overturns a 25-year-old definition restricting parenthood to a biological or adoptive person. The new definition expands the term parent to include caretakers who initially agreed to conceive and raise a child. Under the ruling, if an unmarried same-sex couple with children splits, the non-biological partner has a right to the children just like the biological partner.

Kathy Koch believes all children are smart, but not in the same ways. She believes the tools we use to measure intelligence, such as IQ tests, miss the vast majority of ways humans learn, process information, and express creativity. Her latest book, 8 Great Smarts, tries to help parents and children answer the question, “How am I smart?” not “How smart am I?” I had this conversation with Kathy Koch at the Great Homeschool Convention in Ontario, Calif., in June.

I was 2 years old in 1945 when my father returned from military service in World War II. He was anxious to see the son he knew only through photos and letters. Mother said that when he walked into the house, sporting a beard and wearing his Army uniform, I ran screaming from the room and hid in a closet.

He was furious. Joseph Erickson and I got off to a rocky start.