The Younger and Adult Children

Abstract

The plight of millions of children in the United States in the 1980s finally began to be acknowledged by government officials and politicians in the early 1990s as political candidates struggled with issues that could be used for political gain. Children have no voting power, and those that are in grievous distress too often are living with a disturbed, disadvantaged, or demoralized parent(s) who is/are so alienated that he/she/they do not vote. Consequently, the status and well-being of the children in our society have depended on shifting humanitarian sentiments and our national leaders’ often fragile social consciences. The tragedy of children who are hungry, homeless, and/or ill-cared for (if not harmed) has stirred some advocates, who point to the sad statistics about the lack of well-being of children in America and hope that the 1990s will be the decade of our children.