American Families in Crisis Dear Students:

Every day we are bombarded with stories in the news media about immense social problems confronting our society today. We have heard about many of these problems: abuse and neglect of defenseless children; widespread use of alcohol and illegal drugs; rising levels of violent and senseless crimes; divorce and the breakdown of family values. It is clear that something is seriously wrong with our society. The strength of individual families determines the strength of our community and nation at large. When trying to determine the health of our nation, we must look at how Americans educate, guide, and train the youngest members of our society. The family is the backbone of society; responsible for the care, nurture, protection and love of the young. Parents who meet this responsibility serve not only their children but society as a whole. Likewise, parents who fail in this responsibility, fail their children and their country. This book was written for a number of important reasons. First, I believe that the root of many of the problems facing our society can be traced to problem