Last Man Standing: The Changing Family Structures

When I became a mommy at the age of 23, I became aware of how much there was to learn. As a new parent I became overwhelmed by all the duties I had in order to take care of my daughter. She had to be fed, change, bathe, put to sleep, etc. It seemed unconceivable to me that I could cope with any other additional activity, such as going to college or working at the same time. There was a point in my life that I felt discouraged and felt I needed guidance and support to keep on going. I wanted her to experience what I experience during my childhood. However, by the time my 3rd daughter was born, I was aware of everything I had learned and I was actually an excellent mommy. I was able to analyze in detail what every parent must do raise their family in becoming productive citizens of our society and the reason why it was so important to become an excellent caregiver.

Stephanie Coontz in “The Way We Weren’t: The Myth and Reality of the Traditional Family” emphasizes that the traditional and ideal nuclear family widespread in media and textbooks are false and far from reality. In fact, it is common to see more similarities to the traditional family consistent of “male breadwinner and nurturing mother” (1) today than in the past.

Throughout human history individuals around the world, of various ethnic, racial, cultural backgrounds have linked together to form what people call today families. A lot of questions come to mind when contemplating the complex relationship people have. Since families have a direct bearing on society now and on future generations it is essential to take seriously what is happening to the family. Is the American family in decline, and if so what should be done about it? “Traditionally, family has been defined as a unit made up of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption: live together; form an economic unit, and bear and raise children (Benokraitis, 3).” The definition of decline is to “fail in strength, vigor, character, value, deteriorate, slant downward.” The traditional nuclear family consists of a father provider, mother-homemaker, and at least one child (Brym and Lie, 252).” The nuclear family is a distinct and universal family form because it performs five important functions in society:sexual regulation, economic cooperation, reproduction, socialization, and emotional support. Research from the 1950 's to the present will emphasize what trends are taking place among American families. Family trends might not have expected???

In 1970, 40% of couples were married with children. 2013 marked a new low as only 19% of household were married with children. A nuclear family is usually described as a heterosexual marriage with the average of 2.5 children, became synonymous with the American dream philosophy in the mid-1940s. The nuclear family standard is rapidly on the decline in the United States. These declining number have a range of causes. The causes of the decline of the nuclear family are cohabitation, childfree couples, high divorces rates, and the introduction of LGBTQ families. The effects are increased self-fulfillment, serial monogamy, childhood psychological trauma and family diversity. Gay and lesbian marriages

Mid 2011, Linz and I got married, and added to our count of children, when we had twins! The stress of having a family of six was slowly starting to show. We were accustomed to taking care of our eight and five-year-old children who use the bath room without assistance, and for the most part could do most things on their own. Now we had these new twin babies who required a lot of attention that was mainly at night, as well as double the diaper, clothes, and food. We quickly arrived to the realization that we HAD to do more, picking up extra hours at work was not enough. We decided we’d both attend college.

child of three and the only girl. I’ve always had the responsibility of watching after children and it is also my

The Brady Bunch were the ideal families in the 1960's and 1970's, and in the 80's, it was Family Ties. When the 1990's approached us, television shows took on a whole new outlook on American Families. There were shows such as Full House, which was about a single father raising three daughters with the help of his brother-in-law and his best friend. Roseanne was also another show that showed the "dysfunctional" side of families. American Families keep changing, and they will continue to change in our future.

A family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society; society’s moral values and ethics have changed over time. The fifties decade was called “The Last Stage of Innocence” where families dined together, chatted with their neighbors regularly, and went out for frequent outings. However, the typical 2010’s family commonly eats dinner separately, children will be on their phones constantly, and all the members of the family do their own thing at the times they want to. An example of society differences throughout the decades can be shown on television. Two television shows that illustrate these differences are Leave it to Beaver and Modern Family.

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 brief view of the 4 decades within the periods of 1950 to 1990 would show us a significant shift from the conventional nuclear family to the non-conventional modern family. Starting from the 1950s, the families were nuclear, where members worked together, understood their roles, and did what was expected of them; by the 1960s, there were a few sitcoms that began to undermine the television parent’s authority by privileging the independence of nearly adult or adult children; by the 1970s, the authoritative father began to disappear as they were no longer

Family is defined in many ways in this chapter, Dalton stated there are different forms as families. Such as Nuclear family which is “familial form consisting of a father, a mother and their children.” He also describes an extended family, a “kin network that extend outside or beyond the nuclear family.” (Dalton 453, 455) the traditional family in the 1950s was a male known as the breadwinner, a female housewife and their children (Dalton 455) unfortunately that is not the case today. It is sad to say that the divorces have risen steeply since the 1950s, therefore breaking the families in half.

The Decline of Traditional Family Being Detrimental to Society Some people believe that the decline of the traditional family (Nuclear family) is detrimental to society because a lot of people are not socialising. This is one of the basic roles that a traditional family performs for individuals to meet the expectations of society. Only through a family can a person play a full part in society.

In a sociological perspective, family is interpreted as a social group whose members are bound by legal, biological, or emotional ties or a combination of all three. The sociological theories the connect to this concept are functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionalism. First, functionalism states that the family socializes children, it provides emotional and practical support for its members, and it provides its members with a social identity. Secondly, conflict theory states that members create disagreements, and create emotional support and comfort. Finally, symbolic interactionism claims family members and intimate couples interact on a daily basis. "Families are defined as a relationship by blood, marriage, or affection" (Seccombe 5).

Through the sociological eye there are many different types of families. There is no formal definition of what a family is, but there are several different views that can give you an idea of what it my look like. Postmodern families have become a commonality across the world. A post modern family is a representation of several different types of families that are present in today’s society.

Thirdly, the sexual revolution has cracked the nuclear family ideology. Because the “erotic” is now the foundation of "personal well-being" and "fulfillment" in marital relationship with some people rather than the “romantic love” foundation of the traditional nuclear family. That saw too many teenagers becoming unmarried females in the United States at the early age. Because the ways society has valued sexual ideology, people and things are