In your opinion, is the decline of the 'traditional' American family the biggest factor contributing to the decline of America?

What is the traditional family? I know the NUCLEAR family is what consist of a mother, father and two children and the mother stays home with them, but what counts as traditional?

Supernova wrote:

What is the traditional family? I know the NUCLEAR family is what consist of a mother, father and two children and the mother stays home with them, but what counts as traditional?

Yeah, like the Cleavers?

That is the American Mythos. What about a family with step parents and step siblings that I grew up with when the Cleaver and Nelson myths were running on TV. Divorce has been a tradition in my life and entertainment is finally catching up.

I see nothing wrong with having two daddies or two mommies or any combination of loving parents.

No. The "traditional" or nuclear family was never realistic. As far as the decline of the country we can look to the corporations who run this country as the rich get richer & the middle class fades into oblivion.

CeCe wrote:

No. The "traditional" or nuclear family was never realistic. As far as the decline of the country we can look to the corporations who run this country as the rich get richer & the middle class fades into oblivion.

CeCe wrote:

No. The "traditional" or nuclear family was never realistic. As far as the decline of the country we can look to the corporations who run this country as the rich get richer & the middle class fades into oblivion.

Supernova wrote:

What is the traditional family? I know the NUCLEAR family is what consist of a mother, father and two children and the mother stays home with them, but what counts as traditional?

Just what you described. I don't, necessarily, buy into the glory of the 'traditional' nuclear family either -- however, many have and continue defend it's splendor, and argue that it's breakdown has created some kind of a destructive ripple effect in society. Just wanted to get people's takes on that attitude, and if they think that any social instability that exists today is linked to that.

No.

I think it definitely has since "family" has basically been mangled to mean whatever people want it to mean. IMO, not only was the "traditional" family realistic but I think that, without it, the country is withering.

Forgiveness Man wrote:

I think it definitely has since "family" has basically been mangled to mean whatever people want it to mean. IMO, not only was the "traditional" family realistic but I think that, without it, the country is withering.

One thing's for sure, there's more to gain from kids actually being raised by their own FAMILY instead of nannies, babysitters and daycares all their lives until they're practically just living at the school and only come home to eat and go to bed. I think that's a lot of the problem, a lot of kids growing up and their families just have no time for them because sabes que both parents have to have a career, have to make a living...it would seem one problem started when a family could no longer survive on the salary of only one working parent...true, more people feel their lives are fulfilled when they have a job and they work but that should not be taking over their whole lives and eating up all the time they have for their families.

My sister and her husband have three children (now grown, 20,22,24). Of all the boys' friends, none of the parents are still together but my sis/her hubby.

However, when my mom was a kid the "traditional" family was a multi-generational extended family type. Either way, now that kids are left as latchkey without supervision, and parents whore around selfishly, yes, society is declining.

wants2laugh wrote:

...Either way, now that kids are left as latchkey without supervision, and parents whore around selfishly, yes, society is declining.

Not all latchkey kids are that way because their parents are "whoring around."

Somehow on the economy of the '50s my dad was able to support a family of 4 on his paycheck alone, but that has not been the case in my working life. Both my wife and I had to work to make a living for our family. That is apparently the norm now.

Interestingly enuf, in one apartment where Jim and I were living in New Orleans our neighbor was a prostitute. She was able to take care of her elderly mother two young daughters and a teen son. I sorta picked up the role of mentor for the boy, who did know what his mother did at work each night. They were good ppl and I respected her for being a responsible mother and provider for her family.

We as a society are selfish and have many things today that we did not back in the 50s--both necessities and luxuries. In the 50s car insurance was no required (at least not here) as it is mandated today.

We now pay for:

cell phones
internet
sirius
cable tv
music
movies
computers
our electric bills are outrages due to advances... etc etc

259,000 people last month canceled their comcast service due to the bad economy. we can't afford the way we are living and we are needing to go back to the extended families that the Irish, German, filipinos, latinos used to/still do live.

wants2laugh wrote:

We as a society are selfish and have many things today that we did not back in the 50s--both necessities and luxuries. In the 50s car insurance was no required (at least not here) as it is mandated today.

We now pay for:

cell phones
internet
sirius
cable tv
music
movies
computers
our electric bills are outrages due to advances... etc etc

259,000 people last month canceled their comcast service due to the bad economy. we can't afford the way we are living and we are needing to go back to the extended families that the Irish, German, filipinos, latinos used to/still do live.

I have to agree about this...I read a few years back about a family that couldn't make it on $150,000 a year because they needed a huge house, an SUV that couldn't even fit into the garage, all the latest gadgets for everybody, and then in contrast there was another article about a college student who gets by on $12,000 a year. Even around here I see parents who are always buying new vehicle after new vehicle but they can't keep more than one day's worth of food in the fridge for their kids because they don't have the money.

Oh! Almost forgot, also wanted to comment about the extended family thing...when I was in college we took classes on sociology and on one test it was revealed that the American Indians, who for so long DID do the extended families and they took care of their elders, have recently jumped on the bandwagon with everyone else who has stopped doing that...and I don't understand why. I asked my mother and her answer goes back hundreds of years to when our ancestors took the country away from them but the teacher said it's only been in recent times that they have stopped caring for their elderly and extended relatives, several hundred years ago is not recent, so if anybody could shed some light on this subject, I'd sure like to know what the reasoning is all of a sudden.

I do not think at all that the changing dynamics of typical families has to do with the decline of anything. Having to pay over $200 to get antibiotics for a child with strep throat has to do with America's decline. Straighten out health care and middle class families will be able to start taking their kids in for medical care.

wants2laugh wrote:

My sister and her husband have three children (now grown, 20,22,24). Of all the boys' friends, none of the parents are still together but my sis/her hubby.

However, when my mom was a kid the "traditional" family was a multi-generational extended family type. Either way, now that kids are left as latchkey without supervision, and parents whore around selfishly, yes, society is declining.

Is whoring around what you think latchkey kids parents are doing? LOL.