Just four-in-ten (41%) Americans now say that children are very important to a successful marriage, compared with 65% of the public who felt this way as recently as 1990, according to a new Pew Social Trends survey. Yet while children may be perceived as less central to marriage,they are as important as ever to their parents. As a source of adult happiness and fulfillment, children occupy a pedestal matched only by spouses and situated well above that of jobs, career, friends, hobbies and other relatives. Read More