Thanks Jonathon, I genuinely have no idea of stats in regards to the
whole time frame, between the late sixties and early seventies to now,
(trying to tie in other factors to the 'breakdown of family units) in
regards to mental health...which I have been looking into...

I do wonder with the break throughs, and more open-ness in regards to
mental health issues, if there has been an over-use of terms, and
medications to bandaid deeper social issues...

Which in turn may be attributed to the apathy of societies...almost a
sedation of the masses, through what we are fed through our televisions,
and our medical practitioners...

It is just a train of thought...looking at causatives..

No, you were right, jonathon, it was a two part post, firstly in
response to the indirect comment, in regards to women being attributable
to the break down of family units...

and then a general question, with no gender...

I think people in general have a lot more information to process than
they did 30 years ago. With all we're expected to learn in school,
television, advertising, internet and the fact we have access to what's
happening around the globe. Throw all of it on top of daily life and it
can take it's toll.

no kidding man look at the mess i am!!!

jess where has it been that women were to blame for the downfall of
society

Robin, I was referring to philosopher's comment in his post, on page
two...

Tue 06/12/07 04:44 PM
I agree on the point adj was making, family unit is pretty well
destroyed. It seems to me that women have no interest in
beingmarriedbefore having children anymore. I should include men in this
mix, butthe few women I know who had children out of wedlock didn't
bother toget their boyfriend's agreement, however they were quick to get
thecourts to enforce their rights to child support. It is a wild world
forchild bearing. Sorry that sounds so bad, but I just see what I see.

***************************************************************

Hi, everyone!

My sense is that the forces that are tearing at the unitary family (two
parents, two children) powerful and confusing. Economic, social,
educational, and life-expectancy trends all work against that unit. So
if it breaks down in any way -- divorce, death of a spouse, death of a
child, loss of the home, unemployment -- the unitary family often does
not have the resilience to keep on functioning well for the remaining
members.

I've become more and more intrigued with the dynamics of extended
families, and am wondering whether they might not be more resilient?

Kid at Heart said something important that I want to come back too: that
is how we are being overwhelmed by information. I now spend about 1/3 of
my day reading or talking with information sources. I love it, but I am
also feeling that more and more I am not keeping up with the information
flows that I want to. All my colleagues seem to feel they are int he
same position.

Does anyone else feel like they are in this situation?

I'd love to hear your thoughts also on the unitary/extended family
question....



Oceans

Information overload? Yes.

And although there is the flip side of the osterich syndrome, (keeping
one's head in the sand)...where is the balance?

The whole medium of television, internet, and good old fashioned books,
and newspapers...pouring contradictory information down our necks...

The whole 'experts' on raising children, family structures, what to eat,
what not to eat, what to say, what not to say, as well as the doom and
gloom, (local, national and world news) of the day just past, gets so
overwhelming.

As to extended families, and the insular family question...

My belief is yes, when extended families having a more supportive role
was diminished, and the 'separate entity' of the modern families came
about, the social impacts were huge.

Support, wisdom, shared childcare, and care for aging relatives, became
privatised.

Oprah and Doctor Phil, have become the elder wisdom, (yuk!), daycare
centres became our shared parenting, and nursing homes became our caring
for aged family memebers.

Stripping away the family unit, stripping it back to a dollar value..
creating new mindsets on what family looks like...all generated in
glossy colour in out television programmes, and advertising.

Family is not a commodity in my opinion, it is a necessity, to the very
survival of the human race. the more it is segregated, isolated, and
separated, the more vulnerable the human species is.

(An over simplification, perhaps, but the cut and dried version of my
opinion.)

HA HA HA!! Dr.Phil. I had him confused with Jeffrey Tambor the actor for
years! I didn't take him seriously, I thought it was a role Jeffrey was
playing. Still the same just realise it's two different people.
I wonder who writes his scripts.

Oceans, when you say that extended families may be more resilient, what
do you mean? Is it more inattentive than resilient? I think you and Jess
are dead on but I see the American family (can't comment on others) as a
unit disintegrating due to all the factors mentioned and I remembering
it happening as far back as the mid seventies. Or at least that's as far
back as my current "senior moments" will let me remember.

i missed that one

man i have t say there is fault all around

no one gender and no one nationality