Men and their relationship to the family

I actually think that thinking of things as being that simple would be something that is completely wrong in the world today. There are a variety of reasons that I feel that way. First of all, I have to say that with the world and the economy the way that it is today, there are very many different ways that families operate. There are some families where it is the woman of the house that is the breadwinner and the man is the one holding down the fort at home. There are families where both adults work outside the house and so on.

I think we have made it way too complicated. We've taken the traditional roles and turned them upside down and the ones who really suffer are the children who are left to raise themselves or are raised by strangers as their mom works. Now, I have a nephew who raised the kids while the wife worked and those kids are wonderful, well adjusted young adults now. It worked for them but one person stayed home, the family as a unit was protected and cherished. The point is, one parent should be home raising the children and running the household which is more than a full time job. And our culture is now a mess because so many women were told they could pursue personal fulfillment instead of doing what's best for the children--they were hoodwinked, for the most part, and many wound up unfulfilled with children and husbands they didn't even really know. I would like to see a return to tradition. Those women who want to can have fulfilling careers and those who want to stay home and be mothers can without ridicule. I just don't think careers and motherhood mix well and it's the kids that suffer. No to mention the emasculation men have suffered by being denied their roles as protectors and providers--they're not important anymore, or so society says, and that's one reason we see all this confusion and unhappiness.

It's up to each family to set up and define those roles. They may not be the same in every household and they may need to change based in circumstance. Personally, I do not feel as if my relationships with others is too complex. If you want simplicity you will have to lower the divorce rate and make it taboo once again to have kids out of wedlock.