Family Problems in the UK - Coursework Example

?Family Problems in the U.K. Family problems are growing everywhere in the world. UK seems to be having some of the worst statistics as far as familyproblems are concerned. According to Robert Winnett, and James Kirkup (2012), “Britain’s 120,000 problem families cost taxpayers an estimated ?9?billion in benefits, crime, anti-social behaviour and health care”(Winnett and Kirkup). Many people have the illusion that family problems are personal issues and the government or the society has nothing to do with it. However, statistics showed that family problems often create social problems and the cost incurred by such problems are more than what one would expect. It should be noted that ?9?billion annual expenditure in a nonproductive sector is unaffordable to Britain, especially in the current recession climate. “The government says the 120,000 families are to blame for a significant share of social problems because the adults are usually on benefits for life, their children are often absent from school and the police are regularly called to their homes” (Councils back troubled families scheme). This paper analyses various dimensions of family problems in UK. Under government criteria, a troubled family is one that meets five out of seven criteria: having a low income, no one in the family who is working, poor housing, parents who have no qualifications, where the mother has a mental health problem, one parent has a long-standing illness or disability, and where the family is unable to afford basics, including food and clothes. Many of the seven are beyond the control of the families themselves (Pickles) As in the case of many other social problems, low income seems to be the major reason for family problems (see appendix for more details). Today’s generation are more interested in leading a lavish life; however they are not ready to undertake any hard works for finding resources to lead such a life. They often seek shortcuts for solving problems. But it is difficult to have shortcuts to solve all the problems. Absence of shortcuts for solving problems creates frustrations in the minds of family members which will finally transform into serious problems. It should be noted that plenty of people UK have either lost their jobs or forced to face salary cuts because of the ongoing recession. Until the onslaught of recession, these people were leading a lavish life. A sudden change of life style forced by the recession created lot of stigma among low income families. Health problems and poor housing added more venom to these problems. Lack of education prevented many families to manage their family budgets judiciously during recession period. For many of the families, the current recession was an entirely new experience. Majority of the British people never anticipated such problems in Britain. They thought that British economy is stable and strong enough to overcome any financial problems. However in reality, it was not so. Sudden change from a lavish life to an ordinary life was unacceptable to many families in Britain (see appendix for more details about the spending habit of UK families) “A fifth of problem families have more than five children”(Winnett and Kirkup, 2012). In other words, excessive number of children in the family seems to be a major reason for family problems in UK. Because of the ongoing recession problems, UK families are facing lot of problems. Families forced to spend a substantial portion of their income for the education of their children. When the number of children per family increases, naturally the educational expenses also will be increased. But, many of the families do not have enough income to give proper education to their children. Thus, plenty of UK teenagers forced to discontinue their education unexpectedly. Such teenagers often engage in antisocial activities because of the frustrations developed as a result of the discontinuity of their education. “In September the Department for Education published data showing that up to March 2011 over 10,000 families had been supported through intensive family interventions and that these had results in significant reductions in the problems they experience” (Families with multiple problems) (Councils Back Troubled Families Scheme) From the above illustration, it is evident that majority of the geographical areas of England has more than 1000 troubled families. In other words, family problems were dispersed evenly over the entire areas of England. Eva Rausing, one of Britain's richest women, was found dead at her London home last night as her husband, the Tetra Pak drinks carton heir Hans Kristian Rausing, was being questioned by police. The couple, who had other homes in Barbados and on a luxury cruise liner, have been dogged by drug addiction throughout their adult lives. They met in a rehab clinic in America while they were still in their 20s (Clark) Drug addiction and alcoholism are some of the major reasons for the increasing family problems in Britain. These antisocial behaviors have the ability to destroy the rational thinking or critical thinking abilities of the people. Addicted people may not have the ability to segregate between good and evil. They may often create problems not only in the family but also in the society as well. According to Rosa Prince (2012), “Many of the family problems were “entrenched” with “long-term cycles of suffering problems” often stretching back generations” (Prince). It should be noted that the current family problems in Britain has the potential to affect current generation as well as the future generation. The destiny of future generation is decided by the activities of the current generation. Moreover, current generation lays foundations for the betterment of future generation. For example, denial of education to current generation may affect the living standards of the future generation. Knowledge and life styles are transferring from generation to generation. Same way family problems also have the potential to transfer from current to future generation. Louise Casey, head of troubled families policy, has produced a report that promises "stark real-life accounts from families, with experiences often passed from generation to generation, such as domestic and sexual abuse, teenage pregnancies, poor parenting, social care interventions, police call-outs and educational failure". Casey conducted detailed interviews with 16 households, from which a set of policies is laid out to deal with 120,000 troubled families (Williams). Life styles are changing everywhere in the world. It is more visible in western countries like Britain. Same sex marriages, staying together, etc like modern life styles are getting more popularity in Britain. However, there are many people who oppose these changes. People who give more importance to religion and family values may not encourage such life style changes. At the same time, teenagers are exposed to these life styles more than ever. They wanted to follow such life styles irrespective of the goods and evils associated with it. These contrasting views about a particular life style may often create big family problems. Extra marital affair is another major reason for family problems. Current generation wants to enjoy their life as much as possible. They undervalue religious principles, morality and ethics. For them, life is happening only once for a particular person and it should be enjoyed as much as possible. Older generation may not accept such claims. Thus a generation gap often created in the families which may finally attain the form of violence or other family problems. A shocking culture of criminality at the heart of Britain’s most feckless families who think nothing of having children they cannot afford is laid bare today. A hard-hitting report on 120,000 problem households reveals that those responsible for antisocial behavior feature a high incidence of incest and sexual abuse, physical violence and a spiral of alcohol abuse and crime. The study – by Troubled Families ‘tsar’ Louise Casey – has found that generations of the underclass shrug their shoulders and dismiss pregnancies as ‘just happening’ even when their other children have been taken into care (Shipman). Many of the British families are keeping a casual approach towards the pregnancy issue irrespective whether it happens due to a marriage relationship or it happens outside the marital relationship. Even the churches are currently not much bothered about the life style changes in Britain. Even same sex marriage is acceptable to the churches nowadays. It should be noted that churches were the social entity which successfully blocked the intrusion of unethical or immoral behaviors in the past. However, at present churches are keeping a passive approach towards life style changes which is another reason for the wide spread family problems in Britain. To conclude, family problems in Britain have lot of personal and social dimensions. Lack of education, changing life styles, lack of revenues to sustain family expenses, alcohol and drug addiction etc, are some of the major reasons for family problems. Recent recession caused lot of problems in many of the British families. Family problems have the potential to affect not only the current generation but also the future generation as well. Family problems are not suitable for a civilised society like ours. It has the potential to affect the entire members of the family irrespective of young or adult. British government should interfere more meaningfully to avoid or reduce family problems in Britain. Works Cited “Councils Back Troubled Families Scheme”. 2012. Web. 24 July 2012. BBC News. 11 June 2012. Web. 24 July 2012. Clark, Nick. “Fatal Attraction: Did Drugs Cause Tragedy for Super-rich Family?”. 2012. The Independent. Wednesday 11 July 2012 “Families With Multiple Problems”. 2012. Web. 24 July 2012. Pickles, Eric. “IoS exclusive: Problem families told - 'Stop blaming others'”. 2012. Web. 24 July 2012. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/ios-exclusive-problem-families-told--stop-blaming-others-7834235.html Prince, Rosa. “Grim Britain' Where Problem Families Cost Taxpayers Up To ?250,000”. 2012. Web. 24 July 2012. The Telegraph. 18 Jul 2012. Shipman, Tim. “'Criminal Culture At The Heart Of Feckless Families': Shocking Report Lifts Lid On Incest, Abuse And Spiral Of Alcohol Abuse”. 2012. Web. 24 July 2012. “The UK Family: In Statistics”. 2007. BBC NEWS. Tuesday, 6 November 2007. Web. 24 July 2012. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7071611.stm Winnett, Robert and Kirkup, James. “Problem Families 'Have Too Many Children”. 2012. Web. 24 July 2012. Williams, Zoe. “The Real 'Problem' With These Families Is That They're Poor”. guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 18 July 2012. Appendix (The UK family: In statistics) (The UK family: In statistics) (The UK family: In statistics) Read More