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Understanding Family Structures Today

The document discusses families and family structures. It begins by defining a nuclear family as traditionally consisting of a father, mother, and children. It notes that alternative family types are becoming more common, such as single-parent families or those headed by same-sex parents. The document also discusses changes in child-rearing and marriage practices in the UK since the 1970s, including women having children before marriage. It suggests that higher divorce rates and more out-of-wedlock births indicate the family as an institution is in decline. However, a sociologist believes this is due to marriages now being based on love rather than economic or political reasons, which has paradoxically weakened family bonds by making family more optional and fragile.

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Redwan Siddik
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110 views2 pages

Understanding Family Structures Today

The document discusses families and family structures. It begins by defining a nuclear family as traditionally consisting of a father, mother, and children. It notes that alternative family types are becoming more common, such as single-parent families or those headed by same-sex parents. The document also discusses changes in child-rearing and marriage practices in the UK since the 1970s, including women having children before marriage. It suggests that higher divorce rates and more out-of-wedlock births indicate the family as an institution is in decline. However, a sociologist believes this is due to marriages now being based on love rather than economic or political reasons, which has paradoxically weakened family bonds by making family more optional and fragile.

Uploaded by

Redwan Siddik
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

1.

Listen to the audio and answer the questions:


1) What is a nuclear family?
2) True or False: extended families are replacing nuclear families in North
America.
3) How has marriage and raising children changed in the U.K. since 1971?
4) Why does Stephanie Coontz believe the institution of the family has
weakened?
5) Do you agree or disagree with the ideas in the article?

2. Match the words on the left to their meanings on the right:

1. offspring a. a very important stage in the development of sth


2. conventional b. traditional
3. breadwinner c. bring up and care for a child until it is fully grown
4. homemaker d. the income-earner of a family
5. kin e. breakable; delicate; weak
6. rear (verb) f. failing; dying
7. milestone g. the state of being married
8. wedlock h. children
9. institution i. a person who takes care of the house and family
10. in decline j. your family or your relatives
11. fragile k. a custom or system that has existed for a long time

3. Discuss with a partner what you should do when…


a) your child fails his English test.
b) your 13-year old gets a tattoo on his back
c) your child won’t eat his/her vegetables at dinner.
d) your 14-year old daughter is dating a high school student.
e) your child won’t stop screaming because you won’t buy him candy in the grocery
store.
f) your child graduates university.

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4. Group discussion:
a) Violence: Is it ever okay to hit a child? What is the custom or law in your
country? Do you think the custom is okay or should it change?
b) Due to population growth and environmental problems, should families have
fewer kids?
c) What is the ideal number of children to have?
d) Is it tradition in your culture for women to adopt their husband’s last name? Is
this fair?
e) In your country, are mothers allowed maternity leave (from work)? What
about paternity leave for fathers?
f) When are children old enough to move out of the house?

Transcript:
The nuclear family is the traditional family structure in the West. This term, originating in the
1950s, describes families consisting of a father, a mother, and their ______________. Under
this _____________ structure, the family is seen as the basic unit in society; the father functions
as the ______________ and the mother as the ____________. Nowadays, alternative family
types are becoming more common, such as single-parent families, families headed by same-sex
parents, and extended families where families live with their ____________, which may include
several generations. Extended families are less common in North America, where it is not
uncommon to place grandparents in retirement homes.
A Social Trends survey in 2009 reported radical changes in child _____________ and marriage
practices in the United Kingdom. Figures showed that while 30 percent of women under thirty
had given birth by the age of 25, only 24 percent had married. This marked the first time
childbirth had become the first major ______________ in adult life, ahead of marriage. In 1971 in
the U.K, 3/4 of women were married by the age of 25 and half were mothers.
Judging by the high rates of divorce and the increasing number of children born out
of ______________, it would appear that the family as
an ________________ is ________________. American sociologist Stephanie Coontz believes
so too, but for different reasons. Coontz points out that marriages are no longer arranged for
political or economic reasons, and children are no longer required to contribute to the family
income. Marriages nowadays are founded on love. She believes this shift towards love,
emotional fulfillment, and free choice has actually weakened the family by making it optional
and ____________________.

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