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Over half of babies belong to minority groups

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Michael Bastasch DCNF Managing Editor
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For the first time in U.S. history, over half of children younger than one year old — 50.4 percent — belonged to a minority group, reports the Christian Science Monitor.

For children under five, 49.7 belonged to minority groups.

The U.S. Census Bureau released the data Thursday, showing that minority populations for children under one and children under five are up since 2010.

“It really is an interesting time. We knew this was coming, but it’s just one more symbol of how America is changing,” said Kenneth Johnson, a senior demographer at the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey Institute.

What’s driving this demographic change? It’s a combination of factors.

In the last decade, the number of white women in prime childbearing years (ages 20 to 39) fell by 9 percent, while the number of minority women in that same age group increased by 22 percent. Furthermore, minority women tend to have more children than whites and at younger ages, and more white people are dying.

The Monitor notes, “In the period between July 1, 2010, and July 1, 2011, not only were more than 50 percent of the births minority, but nearly 80 percent of the deaths were non-Hispanic whites.”

The growth in the number of minorities varies region to region, with minority populations growing fastest in suburban and rural areas, while also becoming more dispersed. In fact, California, Texas, New Mexico, Hawaii and the District of Columbia are already majority-minority areas. Hawaii is the only state to never have had a white majority.

This new demographic trend will bring drastic change to the U.S. in the coming years, according to the Monitor. Places like hospital maternity wards may need more language expertise, and and schools may need more English language programs.

Johnson sees positives, in that children who are exposed to racial and ethnic minorities tend to get along better as adults, and the increasing number of minority births will help slow America’s aging trend.

“There are positives, but especially for communities that aren’t used to it, it’s a big change to make,” says Johnson. “The big hope is that America will change in its attitudes from the bottom up, just as it’s changing in its diversity.”

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