Families 100 years ago were large, partly because children were needed to work and earn additional money for the family. Now, young children no longer work and earn wages; in addition, providing an education and life's necessities for children is very expensive. As one result, American families are much smaller than in previous decades. In 1989, the average size of a family was 3.16 people.

In what types of families are children growing up? In 1989, the United States Census Bureau reported that while most families retain the traditional structure, including a father, a mother, children and sometimes a grandparent, 22 percent of all families with children under 18 years old are one-parent families (families with only a father or only a mother; the other parent not living with the family). Why? High divorce rates, separation and birth of children to unmarried women are a few reasons. In cases of separation or divorce of the parents, the parent not living with the children usually provides child-support payments. Most of the families in this category—five out of six—are headed by women. And one-parent families headed by women are usually poorer than other families. In 1989 the median family income in the United States was $32,191. For families headed by women, the median income was less than half—$15,346.

Some of these difficulties are relieved by government programs providing help to low-income families. One such program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), helps poor parents with school-aged children. Another, the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children, provides food to low-income women before and after childbirth. Still, poverty affects the way in which the children in these families grow up. Another change in family life is that more wives and mothers work outside the home. In 1988, women made up 45 percent of the national work force. And 65 percent of those women had children under 18.

What do American teenagers think about their families? According to a national survey taken during the mid-1980s, between one-half and two-thirds of all American youths have a "comfortable" or "happy" relationship with their parent or parents. Their traditional disagreements are over such things as: curfew (time to come home at night), whether or not to attend religious services; doing work around the house; and the friends with whom the young person spends his/her leisure time. A survey entitled, "The Mood of American Youth," published by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, also indicates that the majority of young people agree with the opinions and values of their parents.