The Family

In the nuclear family, parents and children live together. Either one parent works or both parents work. It is the most common type of family in North America.

In an extended family, not only parents and children live under the same roof but also grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc. Most of these families can be found in Southern Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America.

In a single child family, the parents have chosen to have only one child. Even though many people think that the child is spoilt, no study confirms this idea.

For different reasons some couples choose not to have any children at all, either because they want to have more free time or because of financial reasons. Others do not want to have a baby, because they think their child will grow in a “bad” world, a world where wars, diseases and corruption predominate. They may also tell you that there are too many inhabitants on our planet. The reasons are so numerous…

Because of the increasing number of divorces or because of premature death, some children do not have two parents, but only one.

Again, because of divorces which become more and more frequent, parents remarry (or decide to live together without being married) and reconstitute a family.
This type of family has advantages and drawbacks: the children have two families instead of one, so they can have more presents at Christmas or on their birthday for instance, but they can find it difficult to adapt to a new situation.
This kind of situation can be hard for the parents too, especially if they do not have custody of their children or if they see them too occasionally.

In the 1960s mothers had children at a younger age than today. The difference between a mother and her first child was on average 25 years. Now, they keep studying later, because the more and higher diplomas they get, better the job is, and most of the time they do not have a baby before they are 30.

Contrary to their grandmothers who stayed at home and raised their children, women want to follow the tracks of their mothers who wanted to work and show that they could be as able as men in every sector of the economy. They wished their statute would change and they needed recognition from the men’s community. They had to fight hard for it and even though some inequalities still exist (wages, positions, etc.) we can say that their condition has improved.
This change of mentality is normal. Why should they stay at home if they want to work? Why should they not be as independent as their husband? It is all the more normal as life is getting more and more expensive. So two salaries instead of one is not to be neglected.

What has changed too is that today people dare to divorce if things go wrong between them. Society has changed to such an extent that relations between people have evolved, too. And this favours separations.
People live longer, do not work for the same company as long as they used to, so they get more opportunities to meet people than in the past. They do not feel concerned with religious observances anymore, they are aware that a lot of marriages will end up in divorces… In the past, couples stayed together because it was badly perceived by one’s family or friends to separate from one’s spouse. Was it better or worse?

Well, it is difficult to judge whether the situation is better or worse today, but what we can say is that it is different. Look at the relations between parents and children nowadays. They have improved a lot.
The parents are closer to their children than they used to be. They play or spend more time with them, and parents and children, living together or not, often share the same hobbies.

If considerable changes have occurred in the last 60 years as far as family life is concerned, our societies (work, relations between people, private and public life, etc.) have been modified, too. Both are closely linked, aren’t they?