Josie’s statement illustrates the universal human longing to be known and loved by the two people responsible for one’s existence.  Those longings should inform how we talk about marriage and family because children have the most at stake in these conversations.  If children could order their own world, it would be one where their mother and father loved them and loved each other throughout their childhood.  Children crave both maternal and paternal love, and they feel secure when they see their parents loving each other. It’s what they’re made for.  It’s what they long for. And yet, you will seldom hear Jocie’s perspective in discussions on marriage or family.  Adults dominate these conversations because they hold all of the power.

Them Before Us is changing that.

We focus the discussion on family structure around those who are hit hardest by non-marital childbearing, who are the casualties of no-fault divorce and the redefinition of marriage, or who are intentionally subjected to motherlessness or fatherlessness through reproductive technologies – the children.  Kids can’t organize, advocate, or defend their own interests. But we can. Them Before Us is here to advocate for children by focusing on the child’s perspective through stories and studies.  We’ll  view questions about family from their perspective through their own words.