models, as described in the ethnic communities in the readings, where each person occupies prescribed roles in the family and behave according to familial expectations (Campbell, 1964; Griswold Del Castillo, 1984; Gans, 1962). However, it is important to examine these traditional models critically to see that these models may not have provided a supportive environment for the cultivation of the children. Thus, the institution of family has always perched dangerously on the edge of crisis--a situation that was suppressed solely by authoritarian rules and tradition.
In many aspects of life, the functions of the family are being taken over by other institutions or organizations. According to Hacker (1997, p. 34), both women and men are more time at work, thus leaving their children at childcare centers for as along as ten hours a day. Without the extended family structure, in which grandparents take care of little children, parents now rely upon outside institutions to fulfill this role of raising their children. The schools have also taken over sex education (Hacker, 1997, p. 36). In short, parents are relinquishing their control over the education of their children and relationship with them. Instead of using age-old wisdom passed down from previous generations as with the traditional ethnic families, parents now look towards psychiatrists and family counselors to heal family problems and crises with children (Tyler May, 1988, pp.26-27; Schrof, 1999, pp. 61-62). Unlike
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