Certainly, most parents today have a desire to raise children who are healthy, happy, prosperous, fulfilled and of good character. Parents follow the multitude of practical advice that society continues to generate, believe they are doing everything "right", but cannot seem to achieve the desired result (Boteach 1). Parents are left with more questions than when they started, children continue to embrace negative characteristics, and the gap between what is desired and what is produced continues to widen. Therefore, this article will examine the cultural, societal, parental, and communicative causes of why this occurs. An overarching explanation would be that it seems that the more we advance technologically and educationally, the further apart we become socially and individually. American society has gone from families living in close proximity to each other, having weekly meetings and a real connection, to families scattered across the country who only get together every other Thanksgiving or Christmas, and may -be a few weeks in summer, in a spirit: a set of obligations instead of a set of devotions. Family friendships that spanned generations have been replaced by chains of multiple lifestyle enclaves that simply do not provide roots for today's families. And parenting that was once based on instinct, logic and generational advice is now fueled by the need to find a practical manual to provide the appropriate answers in the quest to produce the perfect child. To better understand how these cultural, societal, parental and communicative elements impact the parenting of children today, this article will explore the messages that parents create and communicate to their children in relation to the desire that is actually middle of paper..... .t with whom they are in contact. In other words, parenting has become something that is done for other parents, not children. American Children In the article The Demise of Child-Rearing, Lyric Wallwork Winik paints a picture of American children today: In many ways, more since four- and five-year-olds were sent to the mines or sent to factories, because it was harder to be a child. Children are being medicated more than ever. They are regularly exposed to sexual situations at an earlier age, as well as violence, illicit drugs and alcohol. With the rise of sexual predators, most are no longer free to hop on their bikes and explore the suburban world; many are not even allowed to walk an urban or suburban block alone. Spontaneous play time has given way to scheduled play dates and pint-sized organized soccer leagues..