Sociology Family

Family- a group of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption.

Household- group of people who live in ane house.

Nuclear family- consits of a hetrosexual couple (mother and father) and their child/s.

Extended family- consists of a wider family who have close or daily contact with the nuclear family.

Homosexual family- consits of parents with the same sex and their child/s.

Reconstituted family- consits of a step mother or father and child/s.

Lone-parent family- consists of only a mother or father and a child/s.

Beanpole family- children have more contact with grand parent and great grand parent but have fewer siblings and cousins.

Cohabitation- living together before marriage.

Sandwich generation- people who care for their parents, childrean and grandchildren at the same time (usally women).

Empty shell marriage- married couple live together but dont love each other.

Polygamy- mairried to more than one partner at a time.

Monygamy- married to one person at a time.

Contraception- birth control method to prevent unwanted children.

New man- male who takes on traditional female roles at home.

House hasband- men who stays at home whilst the women work.

Families in the 1950 were mostly nuclear or extended.women married and had children earlier and they didn't have well-paid jobs at all. Divorce, children and sex outside of marriage were seen shameful and contraception were not available.

There are no 'typical families' now and more people remain single or have homosexual relationship. Increase in cohabitation, divorce and decrease in marriage rates. Women now have more access to contraception.

Women no longer have to tolerate domestic abuse. Less people are getting married than 1950. The role of women have now mostly changed.There are different types of families now. Families are now smaller and women can have sex outside of marriage if they want to. Homosexual couple can now get married where as in the past it was illegal.

This is all because of Secularisation, technological change and the changing norms and values.

Feminist support the fact that womens role have now changed as it does not pressure women.

Women give greater place to their career. People feel they can choose whether to get married rather than they have to (Individualization). Their is also an increase in cohabitation.

There are 2 million lone-parent families in the Uk and majority are women in their 30st. Children in a lone-parent families are more likely to live in povety, have beheviour problems, do less well in school,be ill, use drugs, get involved in crime and often rely on benefits than others.

In the 1800 women did not own any property as all was given to the husband when they got married and they could not ask for a divorce except the husband and once they are divorced the men would take the children as women could not financially provide for them. But in the 1950s this inproved a bit as women could get divorced but there had to be a valid reason. But now this completely changed as women could get divorce at any time. 65% of all divorce filed by women and it is now expected that 42% of marriage will end in divorce.

Women are having children later meaning that they have less time to have further children and this is because they are putting their careers first. There is a change in attitude as women and a couple to remain childless if they want. Feminist believe that traditional marriages are not good for women as they are controlled by men.

Children in the 1950s lived in large and nuclear families, left school at 15 and went to work, played outside in the streets, women stayed home and men worked and they would have harsh punishments.

Children now live in a smaller family, stay in school untill18 due to change of laws and lack of jobs, they often stay indoors and play computer games and dont go out a lot.

Sue palmer- modern children have higher risk of mental health problems, obesity with limited opportunities for play and freedom and she called this Toxic childhood. She believes that the media exaggurated 0the threat of peadopilies and a result of childre to be controlled and stay at indoors and they have less time exercising. Parents often work so less time to cook so children eat processed food.

Segregated Conjual roles- men and women do different jobs at home.

In the 1950s most men did not do houseworks, men disciplinded children, they worked long hours.

Men now are willing to help out at home and cook, they are more caring and more involved with children,they spend more spare time at home and more men are becoming 'house husbands'.

This changes has happened because women now go to work so men have to help at home as women can earn more than men and changing norms and values.

Women now have the choice not to have a family or bring up children on their own and they no longer have to rely on men for money as they can now work.