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The American Family In the American family the husband and wife usually share important decision making. When the children are old enough, they take part__1__. Foreigners are often surprised by the permissiveness of American parents. The old rule that children should be seen and not heard is rarely__2__, and children are often allowed to do what they wish without strict parental__3__. The father seldom expects his children to obey him__4__ question, and children are encouraged to be independent__5__ an early age. Some people believe that American parents carry this freedom__6__ far. Others think that a strong father image would not__7__ the American values of equality and independence. Because Americans emphasize the importance of independence, young people are expected to __8__ their parental families by the time they have__9__ their late teens or early twenties.__10__, not to do so is often regarded as a failure, a kind of weak dependence. This pattern of independence often results in serious__11__ for the aging parents of a small family. The average American is expected to live __12__ the age of 70. The job-retirement age is __13__ 65. The children have left home, married, and __!4__ their own households. At least 20 percent of all people over 65 do not have enough retirement incomes.__15__ the major problem of many elderly couples is not economic. They feel useless and lonely with neither an occupation nor a close family group. | 
