Yeah, Millennials at least had some living memory of an ideal to strive towards. Even if it was a lame one, they still grew up knowing a few people who matched the ideal family unit and remember a time when it was considered normal.
This nuclear family, which many refer to as "the 1950's" was pretty poor. It consisted of:
Father - final decision maker
Mother - distributor of resources
2.4 Kids - boy and girl ideally
1 Dog - optional
(btw, it's called "nuclear family" as in an alpha particle, two protons two neutrons)
No mention of extended relatives, no role for grandparents or in-laws, only two generations living at home, no organizing with other family units (ie. clan system), amount of kids just above replacement level, no trade the children inherited from their parents, grandparents can't play match maker (no arranged / semi-arranged marriages), no real penalties for divorce or abandonment, the family property was considered interchangeable with another house, no family-specific religion to pass down (eg. Ancient Greek families each had their own gods), no oaths or formality, it's never clear who has authority outside the parents (eg. If grandpa says X, mom says Y, and uncle says Z, who should the child obey?)
Basically, the nuclear family was more of a "household" than a real family. But yes, Gen Z is definitely even more worse off because they don't even have that to model themselves into anymore.
nypost.com
