BIG BIG difference. today the kids are innundated with societies worst. With no one home to guide them it's no wonder they are having serious emotional problems.
I have kids in grade school and high school. My kids are capable of staying home unattended for many hours. They also feed the dogs, make their beds, clean their bathroom and do their homework without being nagged. They are all boys and are capable of doing a load of wash or cooking a simple meal.
They go to school with kids who live on take out and collect welfare. Not all of them, of course.