This affected the relationships of children with their parents and siblings. When their are fewer children, parents can give more attention to each one. Likewise, more money per child is available for clothes, entertainment, gifts, and education. Potentially, there is also more money and leisure time for parents when there are fewer children in their family. As they have increasingly moved into the work force outside of the home, it has given them financial independence and has altered traditional roles within the family.
Men are less essential as bread winners and less accepted as patriarchs .
Divorce has become an economically viable alternative for women in unhappy marriages. There also has been a marked decrease in the frequency of mother-child interaction. American children have increasingly been raised by non-family members in child care centers and schools. When cultures change, they can have major impacts on the environment. Similarly, when the environment changes, there are likely to be impacts on culture.