[01:54.42]4  Then everyone is off to bed.And the next morning Dad and the kids
[02:00.92]wake up to the sounds and smells of Mom preparing pancakes and sausages for breakfast.
[02:08.34]5 (1)What?You say that doesn't sound like life in your house?Well,you're not alone.
[02:16.15]In fact,you're probably in the majority.
[02:20.77]6 At one time in America,the above household might have been typical.You can still visit such a home--on television.
[02:30.73]Just watch reruns of old situation comedies.(2)Leave it to Beaver,for example,
[02:38.80]shows Mom doing housework in pearls and high heels.Dad keeps his suit and tie on all weekend.But the families
[02:49.85]that operate like Beaver Cleaver's are fewer and fewer.They're disappearing because three parts of our lives have changed:
[03:00.14]the way we work,the way we eat,and the way we entertain ourselves.
[03:07.06]Becoming aware of the effects of those changes may help us improve family life.
[03:14.25]7 Let's look first at the changes in the way we work.
[03:18.71]Today the words"Hi,honey!I'm home!"might not be spoken by dear old Dad.
[03:26.65]Dear old Mom is just as likely to be saying them.A generation ago,
[03:34.10]most households could get along on one paycheck--Dad's.Mom stayed home,at least until the children started school.
[03:44.68]But today,over half the mothers with young children go to work.
[03:50.84]An even greater percentage of mothers of older children are in the workforce.
[03:57.04]And the number of single-parent homes has mushroomed in the last thirty years.
[04:03.67]8 These changes in work have affected children as well as parents.When only Dad went out to work,
[04:12.16]children came home from school to Mom.(In TV situation comedies,they came home to Mom and home-baked cookies.)
[04:22.64]Today,we'll find them at an after-school program or a neighbor's house.Or they may come home to no one at all.
[04:31.57]In every community,children are caring for themselves until their parents return from work.
[04:39.17]Are these children missing out on an important part of childhood?
[04:45.07]Or are they developing a healthy sense of self-reliance?These are questions that Mrs.Cleaver never had to deal with.
[04:55.34]9 In addition,Dad and now Mom are often gone from home longer than ever.Not too long ago,
[05:04.22]most men worked close to home.The office or factory was just downtown.
[05:11.72]Dad often walked to work or hitched a ride with a friendly neighbor.But no more.
[05:19.43]10 Today's working men and women are commuters.They travel distances to work that would have made their parents gasp.
[05:28.67]Commutes of forty-five minutes or an hour are common.Workers travel on buses,subways,and crowded highways.
[05:39.07]Many leave their suburban homes at dawn and don't return until dark.No running home for lunch for today's commuter.
[05:49.39]11 And speaking of lunch,there's been a second big change in American family life.
[05:56.00]If both parents are away from home for long hours,who'swhipping up those delicious meals in the kitchen?
[06:04.23]The answer,more and more,is nobody.
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