The Government-formed Parenting Council has blamed New Zealand's high child mortality rate since the 1980's on the demise of the nuclear family, as a result of an ‘over-liberalised society'. Statistics show the rate of child deaths by maltreatment almost doubled in the 1980s and has remained high ever since. A Parenting Council spokeswoman told Newstalk ZB that for too many years, the new marriage-free world has been celebrated, but that it's time that view was revisited. She said there is a higher rate of child deaths in single or blended families, and suggested international studies prove that children have a much better chance of survival if they live with their biological parents who are married to each other. The Parenting Council is an advocacy group formed by the Government last year, and works in association with the new Commission for Families. It aims to “recognise the importance of good parenting and its impact on society”.