Many problems in America, such as behavioral issues and higher imprisonment rates, can all be traced back to the lack of fathers present in homes according to fixfamilycourts.com. 

A lack of respect for fathers in the media, the feminist movement, and the decline of Christianity in America are all factors in the fall of the nuclear family and the rise of single-parent homes. A traditional nuclear family is a family consisting of a married couple and their biological child(ren) living together in one household. The advantages according to study.com, “are financial stability, strong support systems for children, and providing consistency in raising children”.

First, according to census.gov, “almost a quarter of U.S. children under the age of 18 live with one parent and no other adults (23%)”. The majority of these single parent homes are homes with only mothers—no fathers. The issues of the lack of fathers in homes can be shown in the statistics of prison inmates, school report cards, and more. The increase of single parent homes can be attributed to many things, but one aspect of the declining number of nuclear families is the lack of respect for fathers in the media. A 2016 BYU study “found fathers were positively portrayed by the media less than half the time they were on screen”. 

Next, the modern feminist movement has been more detrimental to family values than fighting for equal rights. The original feminist movements did a great number for equal rights for women, but this new wave is all about empowering women to be self-reliant. Instead of preaching that men and women work well with each other, and both have their pros and cons for everything they do, the movement pushes women to try and do historically manly jobs and activities. According to a University of Chicago study, when a wife makes more money than her husband, the marriage is 50% more likely to end in divorce. The issue when the movement pushes for women to act more manly, and do more manly things, is there will be a lack of mothers and less parental care for the coming generations. 

Finally, the decline of Christianity and Christian values in America even in the past decade, shown in this article by pewresearch.org, comes with some problems. It is no secret that in today’s society, hookup culture is seemingly more respected than lasting relationships. With more promiscuity and less commitment, why are people surprised when people care about family values less? With a decline of Christian values, shows an increase of childbearing coming out of wedlock. According to fixfamliycourts.com, 1.5 million babies were born to an unwed mother. 

One could say that single family households are not necessarily bad, and that can be true. Crediting everydayhealth.com, “single-parent homes now report higher incomes than in the past”. This article also states there could be a more unique bond between the single parent and their child[ren] than with two parents. 

A modern feminist might say that it is a good thing to deconstruct marriage. But in this scenario within a marriage, a feminist can bring a different perspective to the relationship. An article from Virginia Tech states, “Couples described feminism as influencing their beliefs about equality within marriage by providing standards for interaction and motivating women to demand appropriate treatment and men to demand more from themselves in terms of relationship work”. 

Some would state that marriage is an outdated concept. They could also claim that Christianity is an outdated religion that is discriminatory against gays and women. Believing in science has instead become popular and mainstream, famous non-believers have come out of the closet, and in TV, film, and the media, non-belief is in style and reaching a critical mass.

As individuals, we need to open our eyes to what we are being given. Be critical of the things you hear and read because the creator may not have your best intentions in mind. We need to revert back to traditional ideology because many individuals in our generation will miss out on family because of the things they were told in the media.

Overall there are issues arising against family values. Fathers are being painted in a bad light, women are being convinced to work for a career rather than family, and Christian values are disappearing in front of our eyes. A nuclear family provides better financial stability, presents a disciplinarian to the child[ren], and shows many more benefits.