Effects of Social Policies on Family Life - Essay Example

Considering the last fifty years, it has become obvious that public policies have given a free hand to the families to practice newer structures. This paper aims to assess and examine the effects of public policies that can be noted on the family institution of any society and differences noted within fifty years.

Among the areas of family institution that are more likely to be affected by large is the type of family setting, children nurture, division of responsibilities. Taking the first area into consideration, i.e. family structure, it is an evident fact that policies have resulted in both formations and disbanding of family systems. Looking at the statistics of different demographics of the past thirty years, it was noted that the absence of an increased number of public policies has still determined a lot of single mothers. This clarifies the mindset of people that in modern times, newer public policies have increased the rate of single women. This fact sums up the fact that the impact of public policies on family structure can either be negligible or moderate. It can never have a sky-rocketing rate of change in family structure (Bird & Rieker, 2008).

The impact of public policies on employment patterns is a significant one. The number of welfare programs would lead to an increased number of underprivileged families giving up their environment because they may be thinking that the benefits are increased and can fulfill their daily needs. This is, however, different in the case of a single-parent family structure where the employment pattern is considered to be longer. If public policies are introduced where women are allowed to take paid maternity leave from office then it can be noted that women's participation in the economic sector will increase by large. In Britain, women who are working from early morning till night often give up pregnancy because they think that by having another baby, they will not be able to put hard work into their jobs. This may be due to the absence of a maternity leave policy. However, several claims have been posed that public policies may hurt employment patterns in one society but they might not be affecting another society in the same regard (Kaufmann, 2008).

Previously, the employment rate in the UK was noted to be increased for men because women did not have the leverage to work because of maternity. With the flexibility, it has been marked that women are taking more interest in organizational setups. This is one of the prime examples where public policies can be seen to have a profound impact on the family institution (Walsh, Stephens, & Moore, 2008).

By understanding the differing views on the point of effects that public policies could have on the family institution, it has been marked that the government is considered as an interfering body. Some may object that there is no need to pass public policies which are more likely to impact a family setting. Since marriage, maternity and ways of nurturing kids at home are truly private aspects of anyone’s life, the government should not be interfering at all. However, as a counterargument to this assertion, it is noted that families are being taken care of by health care institutions and many others. It is due to this reason that there is an avid need for public policies to be introduced. Initially, health care treatments were given by family institutions. But with the advancement of technology, treatments for diseased people are being provided by health care institutions. This gives us a clear idea that there is a major difference in public policies in modern times (Kaufmann, 2008).