A dramatic shift in the perceived ideal family size in the United States occurred during which decade?

• A. 1940s
• B. 1960s
• C. 1980s
• D. 1970s

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is how social norms about family size change when economic, cultural, and technological factors shift. In the United States, the postwar period promoted a larger-family ideal during the baby boom, so the expectation was often for three or more children. But by the 1970s, a combination of greater access to contraception, rising women's participation in the workforce, delayed marriage and childbearing, and evolving gender roles redefined what many people considered an ideal family. Surveys and demographic trends from that decade show a clear move toward smaller families, with two children becoming increasingly common and accepted. That redefinition marks the most pronounced shift in how many children people felt was ideal, more so than in the 1940s or 1960s, and it set the stage for ongoing trends in the 1980s.