What Was Going on for Parents During the 1970s

What Was Going on for Parents During the 1970s? Notably, the decade of the 1970s witnessed profound changes in social, economic as well as cultural dynamics and parents of this era, faced issues that were particular to that period. There was a transformation in moral values, negative economic growth and advancement in technology. While families were coping with such changes, the parents were also intelligent enough to know that it was ‘business as usual’ in raising children and hence incorporated some of the changes and ways of child-rearing without disregarding the traditional way of doing it.

This article will look at what was really out there for the parents understanding or given out to parents in the way of economic forces, the family structure changes, the positive impact of television among other things as well as how their parenting techniques changed.

1. Economic Constraints as Challenges

There were social and economic problems that constituted the 1970s which had effects on parents and families in particular. These conditions include hyperinflation, increased levels of unemployment, and various other sociological trends that made it difficult for parents to provide for their children. In practical terms, this implied strain in control of expenses on feeding and provision of shelter such that, both parents had to work at times.

1.1 Inflation and the Cost of Living:
High inflation was one of the central economic problems experienced during the 1970s. The base items, for instance, foodstuffs and fuel prices increased tremendously thereby straining the family. To ensure these costs are met with, parents had to make do with other forms of income, with some doing away with less important items that improved their standards of living.

1.2 Dual-Income Families:
Increased economic hardship saw many women step into the workplace. Traditionally men were the only providers in a family adjusted family activity, but well-paid jobs made more than one earner in a family a common reciprocity in the family. This transition implied that a lot of women had to play the dual roles of a mother and a worker which altered how families lived.

2. Evolution of Filial Relationships

Such shifts were also observed in family relations during the 1970s. The stereotype of the nuclear family with a breadwinning male figure and a female figure devoted to house chores started to fade away. Marriage ceased to be the only option, and children were not perceived as the sole reason why couples stay together.

2.1 Rising Divorce Rates:
One of the most remarkable distinctions of the 1970s was the increase of the divorce rate. By the 1970s, mid, the attitude against divorce softened as changes in legislation made it possible for couples to part ways easily. As a result, children began to be raised in homes where a parent was absent and the issues of parenthood arose along with new family structures.

2.2 Changing Gender Roles:
The 1970s was characterized by changing gender patterns as females agitated for the dichotomy to be erased. Family life was directly affected since the perception of the roles of mothers and fathers began to shift. More fathers participated in the act of caring for children while women began to engage in more activities away from home.

2.3 The Rise of “Latchkey Kids”:
As a result of many more mothers entering the working sector, many young children became ‘latchkey kids’ meaning they would go home from school and be left unattended to wait for their parents to get back from work. This notion of autonomy characterized the 1970s, as parents had to start allowing their children to take care of themselves without supervision at a much younger age.

3. The Role of Pop Culture

Pop culture was a major influence on both young and old within the family system in the 1970s. Whether it was music, motion pictures or visual entertainment, the existing media had an impact on the way the parents brought up their off springs and their images of family life.

3.1 The effect of the television: Is It Necessary to Explain Why We Watched Television a Lot in the 1970s?
Toward the end of 1970s, television was a must for every household. ‘The Brady Bunch’ or ‘Happy Days’ gave parents a realistic image that they could either look up to or talk ill about. Also to add to it, there was also the emergence of programming designed for kids which enabled parents to also use the television set as a baby sitter of sorts.

3.2 The Role of Music in the Youth Protest Movement:
Of course, it is indispensable to mention that rock and disco and punk music appeared in the 70 th. The emergence of punk rock became the defining factor on the manner in which teenagers, on the one hand behaved and how their parents on the other hand interacted with them. Most of the parents, during that period, found themselves in a puzzle, trying to accept their children, who possessed broader cultural outlooks than them.

3.3 Weaving Parenting Purposefully from Parenting Books:
And when certain milestones in the development of the national culture were reached, new historical changes began to appear. Traditions of raising children along the lines of Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care books remained popular but parenting paradigms shifted. The late 1970s emerged as the period of the parents defending their right to understand their children’s psychology and to meet their emotional needs. Certainly, parents were told to be less restrained, talk more and show more affection to their children.

4. Parenting Styles in the 1970s

In the 1970s, hence, there was a transformation in the world’s best and most effective ways of bringing up children. Parents began not to be that strict and authoritarian, as they had been in the previous decades. The attitude of parents towards children shifted towards appreciating and nurturing individuality along with personal development.

4.1 Permissive Parenting:
During the 1970s many parents oscillated towards the permissive style of raising children, as this approach allowed for greater independence and freedom of choice in the child. Parents were recommended to give their children chances to wander around and do or say what they want which most of the times leads to a less organized and more easy going household.

4.2 Focus on Emotional Development:
According to the borrowed ideologies from psychology, in the 1970s parents started to consider the emotional and psychological aspects of their children’s upbringing. This meant that the communication barriers between parents and children were lower, and the concern was more over providing an enabling and caring family setting.

4.3 Balancing Discipline with Freedom:
The majority of parents even in cases of permissive parenting remained staunched supporters of discipline. The crisis faced by parents in the course of the 1970s was how to let a child be free but safe and responsible at the same time.

5. The Role of Technology in Parenting

Even though technology at parents’ disposal during the seventies was primitive in comparison to today’s one, it was still a factor in parenting. For instance, with the introduction of new devices such as the microwave oven, the television, and the growing dependency on these technologies, the dynamics of parenting changed.

5.1 Household Appliances:
Technological innovations meant that housework was no longer taken as a burden by parents. For instance, the introduction of the microwave, dishwasher, and washing machines ensured that members of the family especially the women did not spend a lot of time on house chores but rather had time for entertaining the family or engaging in other activities.
5.2 The Impact of Media on Parenting:
The arrival of Television and Radio paved the way for parents to remain abreast of the ongoing news and trends. It was during this time when guidance on how to nurture children dealt many changes was availed widely in parenting programs, educational shows, and even the news.

Conclusion

The 1970s is extremely important and relevant for many parentst that historiographers often describe the decade as full of economic hardships, changing family structure, and very high levels of popular culture. Social roles changed practices of parenthood and also included – more focus on toddlers advancement and psychological health, how to combine liberty with order. Parents were expected to change in such a manner that they would also incorporate paid employment in their lives as well as cope with more divorces to be able to ensure even in a changing world social relations among the families endure.

The later provides a precursory understanding as to what continued to change in family structures over the decades of from the 1970s, more so in the lives of the parents. One cannot help but recall the experience from all those years, because even today’s parents try to juggle and retain some sort of equilibrium in the process of bringing up their children.