AQA Sociology Families and Households revision notes

this isn't complete its just last minute revision notes that may be useful to some

STATE POLICY

·     China one child policy – supervised by workplace family planning committees, women have to seek permission to try and get pregnant, often a waiting list and quota for each factory. Couples who comply get extra benefits such as free child healthcare.

·     Romania childless tax – former gov in 1980s introduced no of policies to increase brith rate. Restricted contraception and abortion. Set up fertility treatment. Lowered legal age of marriage to 15. Unmarried adults and childless couples pay extra 5% tax

·     Nazi family policy – wanted to breed ‘master race’. Keep women out of workplace and confine them to ‘children, kitchen and church’ – better to perform biological role. Castrated 375000 disabled people (later killed in concentration camps) 

Analysis – gov can have a difficult influence on way that family is structured. Control the finances and resources available to them. Uk state policies not as extreme as other countries but they still have an impact on family life and structure.

·      Conservative policies:

§  Marriage tax allowance (1990) – married couples entitled to transfer personal tax allowances to their partner, to better their joint income. Allowed one partner to transfer part of their allowance to their partner if they were unemployed or earning below the allowance. Benefitted couples where one partner worked full time in a well – paid job and other partner stayed at home or worked part time. Encourages people to get married so keeps nuclear structure and values.

§  Child support act (child support agency) 1991 – located abscent fathers and deducted child maintenance from their wages, paid directly into the mother’s account for the care of children in an attempt to reduce welfare payments to lone mothers. Encourages people to stay in the nuclear family structure.

§  White paper on adoption (1993) – giving priority to married couples and against adoption for gay and lesbian coupes. DIDN’T GO THROUGH DUE TO ELECTION. Against same sex marriage and relationships. Keep nuclear structure and values.

§  EVALUATION

§ Feminists – new right view is an attempt to justify a return to the traditional patriarchal nuclear family that subordinated women and confined them to a domestic role. ANN OAKLEY

§ CHARLES MURRAY – new right wrongfully assumes that the patriarchal nuclear family is ‘natural’ rather than socially constructed

§ PAM ABBOTT & CLAIRE WALLACE – cutting benefits would simply drive many poor households into greater poverty and make them even less self reliant and more reliant on the state

·      New Labour policies 

§  Sure start (1998) – set up to improve outcomes for young children and their families, with particular focus on those in greatest need. Make sure children are properly prepared for school, regardless of background or family circumstances. Offer health clinics, parenting support classes, play groups, speech & language therapists and behavioural support.…