Right-- the lifestyle that many 40+ yo adults recall from childhood was FAR more accessible then than it is now for most segments of the SES.

NOW, a "kinder, gentler" and more low-key approach is often just completely out of reach financially for parents who require two incomes. But childcare requirements and all the accoutrements of that lifestyle come as a package deal with all sorts of other influences that those parents might well choose differently-- if they COULD, that is.

Similarly, not all parents have the means for private schooling, or quiet, safe neighborhoods.


Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.