Family Structure Of The United States

There are many ways that the idea of the “traditional” family has changed over the past several centuries. For instance prior to the 19th century family was often considered anyone who lived within a household whether related by blood or not. This included employees and extended family. Per Coontz (2010) “The biological family was less sacrosanct, and less sentimentalized, than it would become in the nineteenth century.”(p. 35) In society at the time it was socially unacceptable to be separate or not included as part of a family household. Over time, the term family came to encompass the immediate family, a husband, wife and their children. During the late 1800’s through the mid 1900’s there were emerging ideas of family that were not widely accepted as traditional or normal, these included single parent homes with only a Mom or Dad, Stepfamilies and same sex couple and parent households. Today, American ideas of what constitutes a family have drastically expanded to include these formerly “non-traditional” families

There are many ways that the idea of the “traditional” family has changed over the past several centuries. For instance prior to the 19th century family was often considered anyone who lived within a household whether related by blood or not. This included employees and extended family. “The biological family was less sacrosanct, and less sentimentalized, than it would become in the nineteenth century.” (Coontz 35) In society at the time it was socially unacceptable to be separate and not included as part of a family household. Over time the term family came to encompass the immediate family, a husband, wife and their children. During the late 1800’s through the mid 1900’s there were emerging ideas of family that were not widely accepted as traditional or normal, these included single parent homes with only a Mom or Dad, Stepfamilies and

Family and society have come across many changes during our history. Every change that occurred has affected what many people would call the "Benchmark Family" (Scanzoni #7). This is considered the perfect family or the norm. The Family would consist of the husband that is the breadwinner and the wife who is responsible for raising the children, and taking care of the home (Scanzoni #4). Society has changed dramatically from the 19th century. These changes in turn have affected Family. Many factors through the years have been responsible for these changes. Feminism is a tremendous factor that is still having its effect on family and society today. Another factor is employment. Women in the workplace have changed family structure

The word family has changed so much in the past century. A family back in the 1950’s was probably considered a husband, wife, and one or more children. Times have changed and families have become much different. The Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others book defines family as a, “Unit made up of any number of persons who live in relationship with one another over time in a common living space who are usually, but not always, united by marriage and kinship” (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond, 243). Families can be broken up into five different types. The first is the traditional family, which includes a mother, father, and their biological children. Next, is the blended family which includes

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a family is "a group of two or more people who reside together and who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption.” (Eutk). In the beginning, family was considered to be all of the individuals who contributed to the household as far as bringing in money; including servants and non-parental adults, who are also considered part of the family if they play a large role in the upbringing or care-taking of children other than their own. But in fact, over the last few centuries until present day, the institution of the family has completely changed. In the late-18th Century, marriage was considered just a union based on love, but as time passed, there were other financial, social, and political shifts in the

The American Family has changed in many ways throughout history, there are many factors which plays part in these changes. From the beginning you learn of marriage set up to create alliances in groups. Then marriage became based on affection and mutual respect rather than male authority and custom. Marriage became about love and emotions. There are some who still think that the bread-winner is still a possibility. Men feel they should provide for their family. Marriage has played a big part in the culture of American Family. Society might not have always seen everything as socially

Family is a broad term to define. In the pre-modern times, family was one of the most important unit of society which consisted of two adults of the opposite sex sharing economic resources, accommodation, reproduction (Mitchell, 2012, Pg.6). A family consisted of two parents, the husband was considered to be a “breadwinner” (Mitchell, 2012, Pg.6), while the wife was the homemaker who stayed home and took care of children. The Standard North American Family (SNAF) consists two adults of the opposite sex who are married and they share both traditional and gender roles (Mitchell, 2012, Pg.6). It is foundational for understanding families in Canada because for a lot of people, it is their identity.

First I am going to talk about an article “The American Family: Where We Are Today by Stephanie Coontz she said, “Modern life can be stressful -- in the family as anywhere else in our fast-paced society. And yet, with all the challenges and concerns about relationships, marriage and raising children, people in the United States today

Currently we have many ways of viewing the word family. People are more accepting and used to different types of families and how other people live. Starting out in the 1950s, there was a very specific way a family should be. Many people still view this as family but as time went on, many people have changed their views on family. Going through each decade, there is a different way to picture what is considered to be “normal” family life.

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.

Depending on their cultural background, many families will often have different understandings or ideas of what a family is and how it should be structured.

The reason for this is because family is an experience that virtually all viewers can reflect on and get ideas about family life. The definition of a family was depicted as a social unit characterized by one or more of the following elements: dependent children that had an adult who was the head of the household, dependent children with married couples, adult children with married couples, and dependent children with adults that shared their housing with others. Furthermore, this definition of family had not been limited to a legal marital arrangement, nor was the dependent children status limited to natural or adopted circumstances. Thus, adults who performed parental duties as the head of a household were coded as a representation of family, regardless of their legal status (Robinson & Skill, 1994).

At the time of his evaluation, Anthony was living with his guardians, Ms. Lori MomName and Ms. Lisa LastName, both registered nurses, in CityName, Pennsylvania. It was reported that Anthony interacts well with his family members. Ms. MomName wrote that Anthony has minimal contact with his biological mother and siblings. Ms. MomName denied any other family issues that may be impacting Anthony’s learning and emotional adjustment and family history was unremarkable for similar learning difficulties. English was the primary language spoken in the home.

First of all, they are many types of families were created over the last few years in American society. This is because there are few Americans that are getting married and more marriages are ending in divorce. This lead to a huge effect on changing the definition and concept of what

The family structure determines where you derive from and provides a sense of who you are. The typical family structure is perceived as a father and a mother, two children, one boy and one girl, and a pet. The typical family description described above is still promoted and expected to be the “dream family.” Author Meyerhoff, “While the nuclear family with Dad, Mom, and offspring happily coexisting beneath one roof-remains the ideal, variations in family structure are plentiful and often successful” (Meyerhoff). Meaning that a lot of families are remarried spouses with prior children and more common in the last decade same sex marriages. So, do these nontraditional families have the same qualities? Personally, I would think so. After