Families in society - Essay Example

Running Head: Families in Society Families in Society of Families in Society Introduction & Background This particular article mentions the difference between US families which existed in 1950s & 60s, in comparison to families existing in today’s generation. Various family aspects which have changed in the past have been discussed. For instance issues like the composition of families, number of breadwinners in a family, level of attention given by each member to the entire family have been touched upon.

Furthermore, the increased stress in an individuals’ life besides his hectic work schedule has been emphasized upon. Family diversity along several dimensions such as ethnicity, age, economic status, race, sexual orientation etc has also been discussed. Main ThemeIn today’s generation, the ideal family structure of two parents, father solely being the breadwinner and two to three children has drastically changed. Nowadays, especially in the United States, we come across all types of families; single parent; both working parents, no children by choice, multiple parents etc (Kesner & McKenry, 2001).

The fact that both parents have started to work, children are neglected in comparison to the attention they received in previous times. Since a mother is putting the same amount of time at the workplace as the father, she thinks her additional responsibility at home should also be shared. But fathers usually do not like the idea of getting involved in domestic housing issues. Another problem suffered is the amount of stress which an individual goes through besides his normal hectic work routine.

This fatigue is somewhat passed on, in some way or the other, to the entire family. Besides structural composition, the basic diversity of US based families has also changed. For instance, more of gay and lesbian families have come into existence since late. But such family dynamics are strictly opposed by traditional religious groups. Some of the most common family problems are discussed in this section. For instance, US is a country which has the most number of people behind bars. Therefore, families of such prisoners suffer badly as kids are deprived of their fathers’ support, while wives also dearly miss their respective partners.

Another common issue is the negative impact on kids due to constant rifts between married partners. Frustration gathered from the workplace also has a role to play in such activities. Due to such parental fights, kids start to lose confidence and trust in both parents (Leroy & Symes, 2001). After reading the whole article I concur with most of the facts mentioned about family life, with some reservations upon the rest. The trend of increasing female workers, and its respective affect on children, is also prevalent in my part of the world.

The hectic daily routines, even after work hours, are also completely true for my country. But since I live in a Muslim country, we do not face family diversity problems such as gay and lesbian marriages. Such practices are strictly not allowed and looked upon with extreme disgrace in our culture. We even do not face problems like mothers slightly ignoring their in-house duties after coming back from work. In Pakistan, no matter how hard a women works out from home, she fulfills her domestic housing responsibilities with great care and diligence.

If I would have been the author of this article namely ‘Families in Society’, around seventy percent of issues discussed would be quite similar. But certain additions such as pleasures of living with a complete family since it reduces boredom, sense of belonging which an individual feels by being part of a broader social group such as family, would have been discussed.ReferencesKesner, J. E., & McKenry, P. C. (2001). Single parenthood and social competence in children of colour, Families in SocietyLeroy, C.

, & Symes, B. (2001), Teachers perspectives on the family backgrounds of children at risk. McGill Journal of Education