Excellent article on the development of family dynamics and its impacts on society

[Laura Corin]

57 minutes ago, Hadley said:

I do think you have a good point here.  However, the flip side is that I was raised under the assumption that I would have a powerful career or be useless.  My mom has come to grips with my decision, but still waxes poetic about ‘what could have been’ for me.  

I think true equality comes in having a true choice.

Absolutely. Many people still only have constrained choices, even now. My female cousin, who hadn't married, gave up her career and was abandoned by her partner as she struggled to look after her mother. Oddly, her unmarried brother didn't seem to feel the need to be very involved.

[SKL]

I think it's inaccurate to suggest that school-aged kids used to spend more time with their families.  I think that if anything, kids spend less time with peers / others outside the nuclear family than before.  People are afraid to send their kids out to ramble "until the streetlights come on."  People wait until their kids are college age (or even older) to let them go live somewhere else and learn a trade.  Also, work hours used to be longer.  While kids often worked in the family business/farm, that doesn't mean their parents were in the same vicinity passing down values much of the time.

Also, I personally think there is value in having many contacts with people outside as well as inside the family circle.  There is nothing wrong with being aware that others do things differently, and sometimes actually better.