In todays rapidly changing society, the definition of many things that used to be considered normal are now seen to be obsolete. This is evident in all walks of life but more recently is apparent right in our very homes. The so-called "traditional family" of the past consists of a husband, a wife, 1-2 children, and in most cases a pet. They had good family values with very low occurrences of infidelity amongst spouses. The children would show a great amount of respect toward their parents and would help with all of the chores around the house. Today there is no clear definition of what a family is. With changing laws and changing views on life by society, a "family" today could be considered just about any combination of things. Values today are all but forgotten, with kids disrespecting their parents and basically "running wild". Today in 2003, it is unmistakable that the "traditional family" with "traditional values" that go with it are out of date. This is apparent through three things; divorce rates are higher than ever and continue to grow; there is a total lack of discipline for youths; and with new laws in place, gay people are legally allowed to be married. .
Family is defined as a household of parents and their children. This is clearly an outdated definition with the escalating divorce rate amongst families. Divorce rates have gone up 600% since the "no fault divorce" law in Canada was passed 30 years ago. Today, approximately a third of marriages fail and one third of those involve children. The number of children living with both parents declined from 85-68% between 1970-1996. (www.divorceform.org/chilrate.html). Watching their parents go through a messy divorce can have very harmful effects on children. It can lead to disobedience because their mother may have completely different views than their father on certain issues. For instance, a father may be against his child smoking whereas the mother (a smoker) could think it was perfectly acceptable.