Family Life In The United States

Social class variations in U.S. family life starts with categories of people who share a common economic position in the unequal society in which they live in (Strong and Cohen 82). Classes indicate economic indicators such as wealth and income earned. These show what people have such as bank accounts, houses, stocks, and retirement plans, but eliminates their debt such as credit cards, loans, and mortgages. Social class is known to have structural and cultural dimensions. Structurally, social class shows our occupations that we depend on for earnings, the power it presents us with, and the opportunities we get to experience. Culturally, social class follows people’s beliefs, attitudes, values, and motivations that separate them from other classes. People are grouped together in classes because of their similar incomes, amounts of wealth, degrees of occupation status, and years of education. Social class is experienced differently by people throughout life.

Impacting multiple areas of society, “fatherlessness is a link with virtually every social ill you can name” (Marche, 2013). The numbers are staggering and statistics show, “65 percent of all our children are growing up without a father in the home” (Chiles, 2010). Chiles (2010) also states, “one third of our babies live in poverty and when a child grows up without a father, they are 20 times more likely to end up in prison.” Poverty and fatherlessness is without a doubt a contributing factor to current societal issues. Data shows that the amount of unmarried women giving birth is in an upward spiral. According to Marche (2013), “in 2008, 41 percent of births involved unmarried women compared with 28 percent in 1990.” This information shows the digression of the family unit, and the decreased level of commitment among men to engage in as the husband and father to their family. Currently, an “estimated 24.7 million children (33%)” live without their father” (“U.S. Census Bureau”, 2010). The epidemic is not only evident in the unwed partners, but divorce contributes as well to the troubling effect upon children. Botèro (2012) states “children of divorce without enough father contact are prone to have poor social skills; to struggle with the five D’s (depression, drugs, drinking, discipline and

What make a family? According to Webster’s dictionary, family refers to a group of persons with similar ancestry. Family unlike friends, we are not given the option of selecting. It is extremely natural to want to have each family members best interest at heart. The perception of family we have today is not that far off from what was demonstrated during slavery, and early emancipation years. Family life and its structure was highly important to not many, but most blacks during these two eras. Although family life today appears to have faults, it is nothing compared to that of those during those years. Issues regarding marriage status, lack of appreciation for the black man, and separation made preserving legacies nearly impossible.

This paper will discuss the differences between families from the 1960’s and the families of today. There are many differences between the different times. I have focused on the parentage portion of the families. I explained what the ideal family is and how it is different today. I’ve also included ways that will help these families of today become stronger as a family.

n the upcoming page’s I will answer the following questions. Why is family the most important agent of socialization? What caused the dramatic changes to the American family? What are the changes? I will discuss the differences in marriage and family, I will discuss how they are linked to class, race, gender, and personal choices. The purpose of this study is to explore the many different family functions and the paths that people are now choosing. I will give my opinion on whether these changes have had a positive or negative affect. I will finally discuss the trend of the modern family, back to pre-World War II family structure, how would that effect the strides that have been made in the progression of women rights.

In over half a century, marriage has transformed from being a social requirement to simply being an option in today’s society. What has caused this change? Many institutions in our society have changed drastically along with marriage. Although these institutions have not caused marriage to be optional, they do strongly correlate with the decreased value. The economy, education, religion, and government have all altered since the 1950s. When any institution encounters a change, all other institutions are affected. Family is a major institution in society, and I believe that marriage is an important aspect of this institution. Cohabitation, religion, women in the work world and divorce have all effected the way marriage is viewed today.

Even when the Constitution establishes a separation between church and state, traces of religion can still be found in public and government environments, such as the Pledge of Allegiance containing the words ‘under God’, American currency having ‘In God we trust’ and other such events and places. Consequently, this prevalence of Christian ideology violates all Americans’ first amendment right to freedom of and from religion and has a negative impact all citizens as it conflicts with their individual beliefs, religious or not.

The one topic that I found the most interesting was Wegscheider-Cruse’s and Blacks family roles. I really enjoyed this section because it got me thinking about which role I best fit and all of the various ways that my family members and I adapted to the substance abuse issues that occurred in our household. After lots of thought, I came to conclusion that I took on the role as the hero/responsible child. I always did really well in school and in the sports that I played. I always felt bad about for my family and what everyone had to go through and sacrifice so I found myself trying to succeed and bring a more positive light into the family. I never wanted to cause any issues with anyone or be difficult because I never wanted to add to all of the stress. Growing up I was by far, more responsible than my older brother. Although the oldest child normally takes on the role of the hero, this role fit me best. I would like to think that I have really good organization skills and have set reasonable goals throughout life that I have been able to achieve. It was very clear to me that I could not rely on my father growing up because of his substance abuse issues. This pushed me to be very independent knowing that my mother already had a lot on her plate.

Depictions of families in the 1950s were extreme in a myriad of ways. The notion of a “nuclear family,” in which a husband, wife and their children were considered the smallest unit of our society, became incredibly popular. Husbands and wives each seemed to have particular roles and duties from which they couldn’t stray. The husband, of course, was a working man responsible for bringing money to the household. His wife worked on something else: their household itself. She cleaned, cooked, and decorated. She bought groceries and clothing for everybody. She watched their children, fed them, and took care of them. In the 1950s, advertising advocated these roles and these roles alone: straying from them was rather unthinkable. The “nuclear

The period immediately following the Second World War was a time of great anxiety in the United States. Although the Germans had been defeated after many long years of war and much sacrifice and loss, the rise of the Soviet Union and the beginning of the Cold War caused Americans great apprehension. However, Americans responded with an increased focus on domesticity and strove to make the family the centerpiece of American culture. In doing so, they hoped to counter the Soviet Union and its policies of egalitarianism, particularly the equality of women in all aspects of society.

The families in America are steadily changing. While they remain our most valued and consistent source of strength and comfort, some families are becoming increasingly unstructured. In the past, the typical family consists of a working father, a stay at home mother and, of course, well-rounded children. Today, less than 20 percent of American families fit nicely into this cookie cutter image. American households have never been more diverse. Natalie Angier takes stock of the changing definition of family in an article for the New York Times.

A total of five families will be participants in this relocation to Ripon Wisconsin and will be under my care for ninety days. Based on traditional family structures is has been deduced that each family will have on average five people, however we will not exclude families that have more than five members. I may come across this if the families want to bring with them extended family members such as grandparents or aunts and uncles. The families that I choose to bring do not necessarily have to be from Rwanda. During the genocide, there were Hutus who left the country because at the time it was not a good place to live and they fled to the surrounding countries. Some of these refugees stayed in those countries, while others went back to Rwanda only to face suspicion and scrutiny due to the genocide (Fisiy 1998). Due to this, I will be considering families in both circumstances, but I predict there will be more families wanting to leave Rwanda due to tensions still in the country. I plan on moving the families to Ripon at the beginning of August so they have a whole month of summer before having to adjust to cold Wisconsin temperatures. Along with letting the families adjust to the temperatures, I have picked August so if any of them want to attend any sort of school they can start with the rest of the state avoiding having to start at an awkward time.

In today’s ever changing world of family problems and instability, fathers are becoming a very scarce commodity. There is a major crisis brewing in the United States and the family unit is coming under siege. (According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 24 four million children live without a father, that’s one out of every three children living in a home with one of the supporting pillars in a family.) With the father absence in these child lives, they become more prone to various problems in life later on. Everything from dropping out of school to going to prison, the chances of this happening increase dramatically.

The nuclear family is defined by Conley as a “familial form consisting of a father, a mother, and their children” (Conley, 2015). I believe that this is still the traditional family form in the United States, though there are many variations possible and frequently occur. Nuclear families have always existed from antiquity, but there also have often been variations since antiquity. The most frequent variation would be a single parent family due to death or divorce. There also have been many children adopted or cared for by family members due to death or abandonment, such as when a grandparent assumes care for and guardianship of their grandchildren, or when orphaned children go live with their aunt and uncle.

At the end of World War II, people seeked a secured and stable family. Thereby, it created the iconic breadwinner father, the mother who took care of the house and the children, and the children who focused on their studies. The societal pressures of men and the economic incentive for women to stay married allowed this typical family model to thrive during this time period. This a period of conformity lead to both men and women who abide by strict gender roles and complied with society’s expectations; this family model ultimately hinders our society.