(Ottawa) - On Thursday, May 5, the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada (IMFC) will host a conference to examine topical areas of family research, including daycare, legalization of prostitution, children’s mental health and pre-marital sex and marriage.
Jonas Himmelstrand starts the day by busting some of the myths associated with Swedish family policies. Sweden has offered a comprehensive daycare package since 1975. Today, Swedish education outcomes have fallen and behavioural problems are on the rise, alongside some mental health disorders. Still, Canada tends to look to Sweden as a positive example for family policy. Himmelstrand is a consultant and author of Following Your Heart in the Social Utopia of Sweden (2007). To read his recent National Post op-ed, click here.
Greg Fleming will comment on recent legislative changes like criminalizing spanking and legalizing prostitution in New Zealand. Canada is considering some of the same policy changes, so Fleming will reflect on how these public policy shifts have changed New Zealand and what Canada can learn. Fleming is the chief executive officer of the Maxim Institute, a New Zealand think tank.
Brad Wilcox, PhD will present “Vive la difference: How mothers and fathers parent differently.” Wilcox’s research focuses on marriage and cohabitation, and on the ways that gender, religion and children influence the quality and stability of American family life. He is the director of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia and author of the recently released "When marriage disappears: The new middle America." Click here to read a review of that study.
Mark Regnerus, PhD is the author of Premarital Sex in America: How Young Americans Meet, Mate and Think About Marrying. He will discuss the research in his book in terms of marital mindsets, the current realities and possible futures for young adults today. Click here to read a recent article by Regnerus in Slate called Sex is cheap: Why young men have the upper hand in the bed, even when they're failing in life.
The Institute of Marriage and Family Canada is happy to bring forward the most recent research on family well being and public policy. Please join us on May 5 for the latest in thought-provoking family research.
Where: Lord Elgin Hotel, 100 Elgin Street, downtown Ottawa
When: Thursday, May 5, 2011, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Visit www.imfcanada.org for more information.
Media passes will be issued at registration. To arrange an advance interview, please contact Andrea Mrozek or Dave Quist at 613-565-3832.