American Family : American Family American Family: Family Structure : American Family: Family Structure In the 1950’s the majority of the American households were the classic traditional American family:
The father, who was the ‘breadwinner’
The mother, who was the ‘homemaker’
2 children under the age of 18 American Family: Family Structure : American Family: Family Structure Today the reality is much different: the 25 per cent of American people live alone, and the typical families are formed, among others, by:
Married couples, without children
Single parents and their children
Unrelated people living together
Intercultural unions: marriages between people from different races or cultures American Family: Family Structure : American Family: Family Structure FACTOR OF CHANGE
Young people are marrying and having children later in life
Some couples now choose not to have children at all
People are living longer after their children are grown and they often end up alone
The high rate of DIVORCE American Family: MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE : American Family: MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE Most parents have little (or none) control over who are their children going to marry with.
Happiness is based on companionship. The majority of American women value companionship as the most important part of marriage. Other values, such as having economic support and the opportunity to have children, although important, are seen by many as less important.
If the couple is not happy, the individuals may choose to get a DIVORCE. A divorce is relatively easy to obtain in most parts of the United States. As a result of this, approximately, one out of every two marriages now ends in divorce American Family: The Emphasis on Individual Freedom : American Family: The Emphasis on Individual Freedom INDIVIDUALISM Americans view family as a group whose primary purpose is to advance the happiness of individual members The needs of each individual take priority in the life of the family The primary responsibility of the American family member is not to advance the family as a group, either socially or economically Family name and honour are less important than in aristocratic societies Less emphasis on the family as an economic unit Americans do not like to have controls placed on them by other family members American Family: the role of the child : American Family: the role of the child The American emphasis on the individual affects children in a contradictory way:
They get more attention
and even more power
than they should They may not get
from either parent American Family: the role of the child : American Family: the role of the child Some American families tend to place more emphasis on the needs and desires of the child, than on the child’s social and family responsibilities.
After the II World War, much stress was placed on the social needs of the children. Many books on how to raise children became best-sellers. All of them shared the American emphasis on the development of the individual as their primary goal.
Although, Americans may not agree on how best to nurture and discipline their children, most still hold the basic belief that the major purpose of the family is the development and welfare of each of its members as individuals American Family: equality in the family : American Family: equality in the family Along with the American emphasis on individual freedom, the belief in equality has had a strong effect on the family.
Alexis de Tocqueville said that in aristocratic societies inequality extends into the family, particularly to the father’s relationship to his children. Alexis de Tocqueville American Family: Equality in the Family : American Family: Equality in the Family DEMOCRATIC IDEA
Equality destroys much of the father’s status as ruler of the family
Lessens the emotional distance between father and children
Less formal respect for and fear of, father
More affection expressed towards him ARISTOCRATIC IDEA
The father is accepted as ruler and master.
The children’s relations with him are very formal
Love for him is always combined with fear American Family: Equality in the Family : American Family: Equality in the Family Some Americans worry that there is too much democracy in the home.
There has been a significant decline in parental authority and children’s respect for them, especially in teenagers
Some parents seem to have little control over the behaviour of their teenage children, mainly after they turn 16, when they get their driver’s licenses American Family: Equality in the Family : American Family: Equality in the Family Traditionally American children have been expected to ‘leave the nest’ at about age eighteen, after they graduate from school
At that time they are expected to go to college (many go to other cities) or to get a job and support themselves American Family: FAMILY VALUES : American Family: FAMILY VALUES In ‘Values and Public Policy’, Daniel Yankelovich reports on surveys done on family values. There are eleven points that a majority of Americans agree are family values. Yankelovich classifies six of them as ‘clearly traditional’, and the other five are ‘a blend of traditional and newer, more expressive values’ Daniel Yankelovich American Family: FAMILY VALUES : American Family: FAMILY VALUES TRADITIONAL
Respecting one’s parents
Being responsible for one’s actions
Having faith in God
Remaining married to the same person for life
Leaving the world in better shape BLEND
Giving emotional support to other members of the family
Respecting people for themselves
Developing greater skill in communicating one’s feelings
Respecting one’s children
Living up to one’s potential as an individual American Family:THE END : American Family:THE END Bibliography
American Ways – Third Edition
By: Juan Antonio Alegre