Waking up in the morning and scrambling to finish your homework realizing you left your textbook at your dad's house could be a problem. Your mother is late for work and can't drive you to your father's house. As a result, you will receive a zero for the assignment. A few decades ago, such scenarios were not common. However, with changes in family structure, this situation is now very common. Over the decades, television shows have reflected social changes in family structure. Starting in the 1960s, a family generally consisted of parents and their children. Nuclear families, with parents and children, epitomized shows like Leave it to Beaver and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriett. Back then, family was everything to people. People lived to create and spend time with their families. TV shows were emerging steadily and becoming popular. Additionally, television was a primary source of family bonding and influenced the behavior of family members. Leave it to Beaver and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet played a major role in shaping family structures. In the 1960s, white, middle-class families dominated television shows. Family situations and dramas mainly influenced the traditional family structure (Television and Family 1). In Leave it to Beaver, the focus was on the ideal suburban family in the fifties and sixties. The show was gentle and the spotlight was more on the children in the family than the adults. The theme presented was a happy and loving family (Cox 1). The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet was an enduring family comedy on television. For decades, the Nelson family symbolized a healthy, normal family. Their main goal was to embody a happy and upright family life (Wesblat 1)....... middle of article ......levision - Single parent, history, families, relationships, performances, programs , Children and Parents." Encyclopedia of Marriage and Family. Np, nd Web. February 15, 2011. "The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald." eBooks@Adelaide: Free Web Books, online. Np, January 12 2009. Web. February 19, 2011. "Two and a Half Men Reviews - Viewpoints." Reviews, Consumer Reviews, Product Reviews - Viewpoints, February 16, 2011. .Wesblat, Tinky. The Museum of Broadcast Communications." The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Np, nd Web. February 15. 2011. .