Family Values That Have Changed and the American Family “ Family life is the source of the greatest human happiness. This happiness is the simplest and least costly kind, and it cannot be purchased with money. But in can be increased if we do two things: if we recognize and uphold the essential values of family life and if we get and keep control of the process of social change so as to make it give us what is needed to make family life perform its essential functions” (Robert J. Havighurst). Most families in America live by their family values and expect their children to live by those rules as well, carrying them through their lives. Family values have changed over time, starting with the Great Depression and working its way into
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Most families participated in charities and donating all the things and clothes they didn 't need or use anymore. Before their clothes went to charity, all the younger siblings wore hand-me-downs (Williams). Why spend more money on clothes when you already have some from your older siblings? “One hundred years from now it won 't matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in my bank account, nor what my clothes looked like. But the world may be a little better because I was important in the life of a child (Forest E. Witcraft). All of those things didn 't matter during this time, it was all about what you had and to be for greatfull for what you did have. Having clothes on your back, food on the table, and love from your family was all that you needed. A great portion of the families had modest working life styles. Families also valued hard work and respect. Children worked a part time jobs after school to put a portion of that hard earned money in the collection plate during Sunday church service and towards their family 's money. Families went to church every Sunday, no question. They went to thank God for their family 's modest existence. …show more content…
Men and women married once and stayed with that same person, now, it alway did not last, but that was definitely the goal and it worked for most. The typical marriage ended with the death of one partner within a few years after the last child left home. Most of the time children were the reason most families stayed together. The American family today is a lot different than it was during the Great Depression. With all the challenges and concerns about relationships, people in the United States with marriage and raising children have a higher expectations of marriage and parenting (Coontz, “The American Family; Where We Are Today”). Father 's with families are spending much more time with their children than they did a 100 years ago. The number of hours the average woman spends time with her children at home has decreased since the early 1900’s. As more women enter the workforce and get jobs, there has been a decrease in the number of children that women are having per family and has increased in individual attention to each child. Even mothers who work part-time or full-time are spending twice as much time with their children as mothers did in the 1920’s. Parents who raised children in the 1940’s
Most families participated in charities and donating all the things and clothes they didn 't need or use anymore. Before their clothes went to charity, all the younger siblings wore hand-me-downs (Williams). Why spend more money on clothes when you already have some from your older siblings? “One hundred years from now it won 't matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in my bank account, nor what my clothes looked like. But the world may be a little better because I was important in the life of a child (Forest E. Witcraft). All of those things didn 't matter during this time, it was all about what you had and to be for greatfull for what you did have. Having clothes on your back, food on the table, and love from your family was all that you needed. A great portion of the families had modest working life styles. Families also valued hard work and respect. Children worked a part time jobs after school to put a portion of that hard earned money in the collection plate during Sunday church service and towards their family 's money. Families went to church every Sunday, no question. They went to thank God for their family 's modest existence. …show more content…
Men and women married once and stayed with that same person, now, it alway did not last, but that was definitely the goal and it worked for most. The typical marriage ended with the death of one partner within a few years after the last child left home. Most of the time children were the reason most families stayed together. The American family today is a lot different than it was during the Great Depression. With all the challenges and concerns about relationships, people in the United States with marriage and raising children have a higher expectations of marriage and parenting (Coontz, “The American Family; Where We Are Today”). Father 's with families are spending much more time with their children than they did a 100 years ago. The number of hours the average woman spends time with her children at home has decreased since the early 1900’s. As more women enter the workforce and get jobs, there has been a decrease in the number of children that women are having per family and has increased in individual attention to each child. Even mothers who work part-time or full-time are spending twice as much time with their children as mothers did in the 1920’s. Parents who raised children in the 1940’s