Many people wonder “what happened to americas family values?” All we need to do is look at some of the changes that have occurred during the last decades, and we will see the question is not difficult to answer.
In the past, Family was most people’s main priority. As each person had a role in their family, most saw it as something positive, rather than a burden. Women truly enjoyed taking care of their own children, and making a nice home. Men saw supporting their wives and children as a definition of being a man. Children grew up appreciating everything their parents did for them.
American family values began to decline when women were urged to work outside the home. Many began to take this new independence to mean they did not need husbands, and their youngsters did not need fathers. Many people came to believe all children needed from a mother was her paycheck, and all they needed from fathers were child-support checks.
Americans started spending less and less time with their children. A little time after mother got home from work, and weekend visits from dad, became the norm. Divorced parents, and even many who had never married, placed youngsters in the uncomfortable position of joint-custody arrangements. This meant many youngsters did not even have a home to call their own.
As American families fell apart, children were left in the care of others, or left to look after themselves. Instead of a stable home environment with parents, children were expected to accept step-parents, and their own parents’ boyfriends and girlfriends.
When youngsters are deprived of the consistent presence and love of parents, they turn to friends, the media, and other sources for advice and information. Rather than being socialized with proper standards and values at home, American kids have become rootless.