The recent Census numbers reflect what we already know: there is extraordinary turmoil and dysfunction in families today. What has caused this? Time pressure is one reason. With the “in touch” world we live in, the outside world intrudes on every waking hour. Time formerly spent in family activities is now spent on the computer, in front of the television, on the phone, in the car and at the mall. We are a harried society. Economic pressure is another reason. Most of our 21st-century innovations are costly, so more parents are working. Our mobile society has caused more families to live far away from the support system of their extended families. Add to this the fact that pop culture focuses too much on tearing down institutions that give us a sense of stability, and it is no wonder the traditional family structure is in decline.
Even so, there are encouraging signs in the Census report. The number of teenage pregnancies is in decline. Then there is the rise in the number of single dads. That is a cultural shift in which women–and the courts–are more comfortable giving custody to the parent best able to care for the child. It is heartening to see men asking to be given more care-giving responsibility for their children. Still, we should hope and pray that both parents would stay deeply and positively involved in the rearing of their children.
Children must have hope. Hope comes from a good education, good values, self-respect and living in a society that values every person, expects the best from each of us and does not tolerate abhorrent behavior. Faith in God fosters hope by providing a rationale for living. A two-parent household, with a mother and a father, is still the best place to raise a child. Current reality is that many children are not being raised by two parents. Since the support system of extended families, which in the past helped to fill the void, in most cases does not exist today, we need to expand the idea of extended family to include neighbors, friends and community. We each need to look around our community and see who needs nurturing. Is there a child who needs a grandparent figure, a father figure, a mother figure or a doting aunt or uncle? Fill that void for them.
The sense of belonging, of being a part of a greater whole, is what is sorely needed by so many. With the wisdom and love that is passed to others, with the hope that is engendered in a child’s soul, we, as a nation, will be placed on a better path to the future.
