To What Extent can it be said that Families are still central to the Lives of Children in Britain Today - Essay Example

?To What Extent can it be said that Families are still central to the Lives of Children in Britain Today? Introduction The type of family that a child grows up in is integral to his/her own development. The well-being of children and their competence is mainly influenced by the relationships they have with their families and the quality of family interactions that they are exposed to (Li and Mumford 2009, p645). To many observers, the family has become less protective and more compensatory; this is to say that the institution exists solely to supply what is needed, but lacks in other social needs. In Britain, families are less central to the lives of their children today more than they previously have been. This paper will focus on the British families with regard to changes in family characteristics and structures, family forms, and level of their influence on children’s lives. The British families and their centrality to their children’s lives will be discussed in light of various sociological concepts and theories. The Family’s Influence on Children’s lives A family can be described simply as a group of individuals who share a common ancestry. The family is considered as one of the fundamental groups in society, which normally consists of parents and their children (Kiernan 1988, p303). The same thing that is happening to the family structure in many western countries is also happening in Britain. To many people, the families of the past were far more superior to the families of today. They were also a lot happier and stable than they are now. Children had a stable environment where they could develop socially, mentally and physically without a problem (Easton, 2007). There was a time when divorce cases and the issue of illegitimate children were almost unheard of. The twentieth and twenty first centuries have seen the family structure that was generally characterised by two parents and their children going substantive changes (McRae 1999, p46). However, nowadays, divorce and cases of illegitimate children abound in the British family structure. Gone are the days when all children enjoyed growing up in all-inclusive families, where the roles of the mother and the father were well defined. Such a family structure enabled children to develop properly in both their personal and social lives. The rate of single parenthood went up from 18% to 29% of all families from 1971 to 2002. A recent research shows that divorce cases in Britain are at all time high. The research indicates that for every three marriages that take place, there are two divorces (Li and Mumford 2009, p647). This is the highest divorce rate in the whole of Europe. The UK also has the highest number of single parents in Europe, with a quarter of all children living with their single mothers. Ford and Miller (1997, p67) capture the single parent situation perfectly when they argue that there is a growing acceptance that lone parenthood is a new stage in the family life cycle and not something separate from whatever is the norm. Forms of Families in the UK and their Influence on Children Most sociological views insist that the family is the most basic structure where the child can grow and develop normally. The main task of the family is to provide protection against the many evils of the world. However, many sociologists observe that the protective role of the family has slowly diminished over the years and instead new fulfilment roles have taken over. Traditionally, there were two types of family in the UK: nuclear and the extended family. The nuclear family is composed of the parents and their children. However, the extended family is much larger than the nuclear one. It includes the parents, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Today family forms have diversified in line with the changing face of family structures (Sternberg and Grigorenko 1997, p45). In the UK, the common forms of families are large families, single parent families, only child families, blended families, gay and lesbian parent families, adoptive families and grandparent reared families. Only child families are characterised by couples deciding to have only one child. Although literature and popular belief suggests that these kinds of children are often spoilt, lonely maladjusted and selfish, research shows otherwise. Many researchers have found that only children are normally bright, self confident, self-reliant, successful and popular. The reason given for this observation is that only children normally receive closer attention from their parents who may exert the needed pressure for self-reliance and accomplishment. Pressure may be put on them to excel in their academic work and sports. However, researchers have also observed that only children normally lack the kind of sibling socialization that contributes to learning and growing (Ford and Millar 1998, p75). Children from large families normally have a different socialization experience from those who come from one-child families. This is because they have the advantage of having brothers and sisters who can contribute to their leaning and growing (Ford and Millar 1998, p85). The interactive relationships that children from large families normally enjoy enable them to have the kind of emotional support, assistance and companionship that is necessary for development. Researchers have found that children from these large families normally experience different levels of rivalry as they fight for their parents’ attention. One of the positive aspects of large family for a child’s development and learning is the interaction that enables him or her to have a better perspective and the ability to show competence and a higher level of moral maturity than other children (Sternberg and Grigorenko 1997, p57). Over the years single parent families have increased by a large margin. Single parent families can be sub categorised into; single divorced parent families, never married single parents and widowed parent families. In these kinds of families, the parents not present in the family may or may not be involved in the child’s development. Females head the largest percentage of single divorced parent families. Te common assumption of the state of children who grow up in single divorced parent families is that they are likely to be poorly socialised and having deficiencies in cognition. This is normally due to the trauma that the children suffer as a result of their parents’ divorce. The relationship with their parents is also likely to be frosty. Those children living in unhealthy single parent families normally demonstrate emotional distress that persists for a long time and this affects their schoolwork, where they may show considerable decline in academic achievement (Dunst and Bruder 2000, p56). The cases of never married motherhood are on the rise. Although children in these families may show more positive development than those from single divorced families, they are less likely to be as successful and confident as their counterparts from healthy families that have both parents. However, not all children from single parent families show negative development characteristics, there are those who are able to excel as well as or even better than any other children. In any case, most children in single divorced families are normally able to adjust by two years after the divorce or separation, and this means that their mental, emotional and physical wellbeing is likely to improve after that. The other family type that is commonly gaining popularity in Britain is the blended family. In this kind of family one or both of the parents brings with them children that they had had from a previous marriage. The impact that this kind of family has on the life of a child is mixed. There are those children who might benefit from the addition of another parent into their lives and there are those who find it difficult to adjust to the whole situation. Many children normally find it hard accepting a stepparent, who may come into the family with different parenting styles than the child is used to (Kiernan 1988, p.305). Different researchers have found that adjustment difficulties that children experience are normally due to the confusion brought about by the loss of one parent and the replacement by another. This results to feelings of divided loyalties, confusion because of the child not knowing where he belongs and unreasonable expectations. However, all these problems can be overcome if the new family functions well enough (McRae 1999, p56). The homosexuality issue is one that has elicited quite a huge uproar in different aspects of society. Today there is an increasing number of gay or lesbian couples who are opting to rear children of their own. Research indicates that to a large extent, homosexual families function much the same way as heterosexual ones. Gay and lesbian families are just as committed to child upbringing and they carry out their parental roles as effectively as heterosexual parents. However, those children who come from homosexual parents are likely to be stigmatised due to the sexual orientation of their parents (Li and Mumford 2009, p646). The other common type of families in the UK is the adoptive families. There are many reasons why couples may decide to adopt children, with the most common reason being that if being infertile. Due to the differences in their genetic makeup, children from adoptive families are less likely to be like their foster parents in terms of intelligence, personality and physical appearance. These discrepancies may lead to the children feeling lost and having a conflict of identity due to their perceived lack of commonness with their parents (Kiernan, 1988, p315). They could also suffer from some level of emotional stress, which could affect their personal, social and school lives. However, it is not such a gloom situation in all adoptive families. Many foster parents and their adopted children normally find their experience satisfying. Most parents are normally very attentive to the needs of their adopted children, and they therefore are committed to ensuring that they lack for nothing (Dunst and Bruder 2000, p45). The other form of families that is slowly gaining ground in the UK is the one where children are reared by their grandparents. Most children who live with their grandparents do so for a wide variety of reasons like having parents who are engaged in substance abuse or who are emotionally unstable. Children with parents who have serious physical illnesses normally live with their grandparents. In many instances, the grandparents normally present an alternative to the child’s upbringing that is likely to result to positive development. Those children who might have had problems in their previous families may find the love and guidance offered by grandparents quite satisfying, thus enabling them to improve their social interaction and personal skills (Li and Mumford 2009, p644). Impact of Changing Family Structures The changing family structures in the UK have affected the learning processes and outcomes of children. Since there are very many children who live in families that are incomplete, their learning is greatly affected. The role of the family in a child’s development is not emphasized as it was before. Research has shown that children who come from single parent families normally do not perform as well as their counterparts from families that have both the father and mother (Easton 2007, par 11). Children from whole families, that is, families that consist of a mother and father, are more likely to develop a strong sense of confidence and social skills that other children might lack. Such children are also likely to be high achievers in society since many of them get the kind of backing from parents that promote self-belief. A child’s personality is also likely to be influenced by the kind of family that he or she grows up in (Kiernan 1988, p315). For instance, a child is more likely to have high level of courtesy and respect if he grew up in a family that encouraged this kind of behaviour. It is obvious that the most outstanding result of the changes occurring within the family structure are influenced by the environment. For instance, technology has played a big role in the changing of family structures in Britain (Ford, Marsh and Mackay 1995, p87). For instance, unlike many years ago, it is now very affordable to get a car or access good means of public transport. This means that it is not such a big problem when family members live far away from each other. Telephony is one technology that has come with numerous benefits, but it has also contributed to the departure of family structures from how they used to be. The use of telephones, in particular mobile telephones, has made it easier for people to communicate regardless of how far apart they might be. Another technological innovation that has contributed to the widening gap among family members is the internet. When members of the same family are far away from their homes, they are able to communicate effectively using the internet (Li and Mumford 2009, p654). Therefore, the issue of distance is not a problem. Sociological Concepts, Theories and Evidence Relating to the Family Different theories that are related to the family can be classified as macro theories and micro theories. Macro theories include structural functionalism, which suggests that the family, like any other social institution, exists in order to fulfill a certain need in society. One of the most important of these needs is bringing up children to be respectable members of society. Another macro theory is the conflict theory, which is concerned with issues to do with social inequality, power, conflict and social change. These factors influence the structure of families and how such structures affect the development of children (Ford, Marsh and Mackay 1995, p67). Micro theories include the social exchange theory, which emphasizes that people are rational beings, and that their behaviors reflect their evaluation of available costs and benefits. This is to say that different members of a family behave in a way that is beneficial to them. The way certain families behave is likely to influence the development of children in those families. Symbolic Interaction Theory is a micro theory that puts much emphasis on the role of interactions between members of a family and other groups. It is concerned with individuals’ interpretations and meanings, meaning that children are likely to be influenced by how they perceive meanings in their interactions with other members of the family (Li and Mumford 2009, p646). Developmental theory states that the family goes through distinctive stages, each having its own set of roles, responsibilities and tasks. The child is likely to learn or get influenced as he grows by the roles, responsibilities and tasks of different members of the family. Life Course Perspective theory looks at how different individuals change as they experience different events in their lives. This theory presents the idea that many of the changes that people go through are socially produced. This means that children are likely to get influenced by their experiences with different members of the family. Conclusion The different forms, theories and other issues of British families underpin the basic assumption that the family does play a big role in all aspects of the child’s development. The quality of interactions between children and influence their behaviors and attitudes towards life and other people. Any child who has a healthy relationship with the rest of the family members is likely to have positively develop physically, emotionally and cognitively. Such children are likely to be more successful than those who do not enjoy the same kind of quality interaction as with members of their families. Such children normally lack attention, love and attention that they need to develop properly and this is likely to reflect in their poor performance in school and aspects of their social life. Families in the UK must ensure that they bring up their children to not only be respectable members of society, but also individuals with high moral integrity and high sense of self worth. 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