The culture of the family in the United States has been changing dramatically since the Second World War. Before that time, in families, the father was considered the one who worked to support the family. The mother’s job was to care for the home and the children. It was a system established since families began and was based on the fact that women carried and gave birth to the children. Because of their physical and psychological design they were better suited for the tasks of nurturing the young and all the tasks that go into maintaining a home and family. Men, because of their physical and psychological design, were better suited to working to provide for their home and family. There were, of course, exceptions to this design all throughout history, often by necessity; but the pattern remained for the general populace.
During the Second World War many American women went to work to take the places of the men who were fighting overseas. Those who were not pregnant or nursing made arrangements for grandparents or other family members to care for their homes and children. When the war was over, the men who returned went back to their jobs and most of the women returned to their work in the home and raising their children.
But there were some who decided they liked working outside the home. Because of many socio-economic factors some women stayed in the workforce. There are advantages and disadvantages of working outside the home, just as there are advantages and disadvantages of working in the home. Just as some men think it’s easier to manage a household and raise children, some women began to think it was easier to work outside the home (the grass is always greener on the other side).
Then came the modern feminist movement. Although the feminist movement began in the mid-19 century, the most radical feminist movement began in 1963. This was when the work of managing a household and raising children began to be belittled. Having a career and working outside the home were considered the better, less demeaning, choice. Women were told that they could do it all—marry, have a home and family and a career as well. It was as if all the work that women have done throughout the centuries was worthless. Only that work done outside the home had worth. That was the beginning of the breakdown of the family. And as the title of this says, “Who’s raising the children?” For children don’t raise themselves; someone has to do it.
The answer was of course--the government. That was the beginning of the diabolical plan to keep children away from the influence of their parents as much as possible. What began with grandparents or aunts caring for the children graduated to other women caring for them in their homes then to daycare centers which parents paid to care for their children. Currently the plan is to provide free state-sponsored daycare to make it even easier for both parents to go out to work.
Children are molded and shaped by those with whom they spend the most time. Strong, lasting families are not formed between the hours of six and eight PM and on weekends and holidays. They are formed by the daily day to day presence of loving parents—teaching them, loving them, being there for them; forming and molding them into good people with good values and morals.
If children are raised primarily by schools, day-care centers or non-family members, they will be formed by the values, morals and worldview of those who are caring for them. Also, no one loves a child as fully and unconditionally as his or her parents.
This is not meant to cause guilt to divorced
or single parents who have no choice but to have others care for their
children. Every situation in life is not ideal. It’s written to help the reader
be aware of the plan underlying the path our culture has been led on in the
past 70 or so years. It’s also written to cause the reader to understand
clearly the ramifications to children and the welfare of the family of the
choices made in life, and in society as a whole.
