There is a significant growth of single parenthood also a delay in women or couples choosing to have children.
The Nuclear family is seen as the ‘Traditional’ family, with a mother a father and their children.
The Reconstituted family is a family made up of parents that have previously been married and join together with their children, resulting in step families.
The Extended family is basically the nuclear family with three generations or more living with each other or close together.
The Lone parent family is one parent either mother or father with their children. This could be due to the higher divorce rates or children been born out of wedlock.
“Charles Murray is a new right socialist who says the traditional family
is under threat. Murray (1989) says that welfare benefits create
‘culture of dependency’ where individuals find it easy and acceptable
to take benefits rather than work”
Hallam G Et al (2004:15)
Could the above statement by Charles Murray explain somewhat why there is an increase in family break downs? Because we no longer need to rely on each other financially is this giving people more confidence to live alone? Knowing that benefits are available has helped many women leave violent marriages, without help from the Welfare State with money and housing these women would possibly be trapped in their marriage.
Individuals live alone or as part of a couple, some in large families (the extended family) or as a couple with children (the nuclear family). The family structure is influenced by the amount of people who live alone particularly lone parent families and the number of divorced and the increasing number of people remarrying.
The resent change in tax benefits (child tax credit and working tax credit), encourage people to work, they help pay child care fees and contribute a weekly sum to help raise the family. Tax credits are paid to people working 16 hours or more and have children or people without children working 30 hours or more on condition that the house hold annual income does not exceed a certain amount.
In past years it has been difficult for single parent families financially.
“....women in the UK did not have equal rights.
They were not allowed to vote and were very much expected to be
just wives and mothers under the rule of their husbands.”
Women are becoming more and more independent, could this be the reason why families are changing?
“....equal rights is now widely accepted and has brought about
changes in how men and women function.
Both can expect to have the chance of a working career and can
both contribute to running a home.”
In the past people got married and stayed married. Perhaps due to women feeling independent this has resulted in lone parent families. Divorce is easier and financial help is available. Women are no longer frowned upon for being alone with their children. The nuclear family is decreasing perhaps for the reasons stated above. Yet in reference to Steven Moore, the nuclear family is seen as the ideal form.
Gender roles are changing; many men carry out domestic tasks such as ironing although they still remain in most households to be the woman’s responsibility.
Is it the increase of female independence that has increased the amount of reconstituted families? Financial help for these families is the same as the nuclear family with the exception of Child Support Maintenance. A government agency which collects money from the absent parent and pays an amount to the parent caring for the child.
Extended families pretty much remain the same over the years; some people prefer to stay close to extended family members while others do not.
Each family structure mentioned has its advantages along with disadvantages. No family is perfect. The extended family has the advantage of extra help with child care; where as the nuclear family along with the reconstituted family and lone parents must rely on ‘outside’ help for child care if they wish to work. The nuclear family and also the reconstituted family have the advantage of having more privacy with their partners then they would in an extended family unit. Reconstituted families in theory have the advantage that children have two sets of parents to help care for them, their biological parents and their step parents. Single or lone parent families have the advantage of independence and the opportunity to raise their children without ‘outside’ assistance. Extended families share the financial burdens between each other. Yet sharing a house with several adults is more expensive to run then say the house of a lone parent.
Who is to say what the ideal family should be? Every body’s idea of idealistic is different. People should not be penalised for the family structure they have.
Has family life changed in recent years? Research shows it has. There is an increase of lone parent families and reconstituted families. A higher divorced rate says that there is a decline in nuclear families.
The peak for divorce in England and Wales was in 2002 with over 160,000 divorces.
The number of divorces1938 to 1999
There was an increase of almost2% from 2001 to 2002
Image and statistics taken from
In Britain over the past few decades there seems to have been a gap in political language regarding family and the implemented family policy. The Labour government recommended by the Seebohn Report suggested a ‘family service’, this has not yet happened. Conservative government attempted to focus on the importance of family independence also implementing a fiscal policy (a government policy for dealing with the budget) also cuts in public education, housing and social services. In which case could only increase the pressure on the families most vulnerable.
The complex, intimate relationships, sometimes painful
often supremely pleasurable, which characterises
family life do entitle the family to some claim of uniqueness
among social institutions: and it is this rich and private emotional life
which makes official family policy a difficult, ambiguous
and contradictory enterprise.”
Class hand out
Tax credit and social benefits have been implemented in order to help those most needy. Benefits aid families of all types, but have the increase in family benefits encouraged circumstances to change? Below is a list of entitlements paid in tax credits, bearing in mind that not everyone is entitled to these credits. In that case it is then penalising the working people who earn more. Fair enough if a family does have a higher than average income then they perhaps do not need tax credits, but way penalise those that can do well and reward those that are on a lower income? Yet on the other hand if credits were paid to all then in theory there would be no point, a simple pay rise would be just as effective.
Tax credit entitlement information taken from
Certain social policies sometimes attempt to reinforce the nuclear family structure, by rewarding such conduct and penalising non traditional circumstances. These rewards include a subsidy for children and married dependants, penalties such as requirements to support their families, legal and financial deterrents to divorce. On the other hand to assume that couples live more ‘money conscious’ then a single person could lead two single people to getting a higher form of financial support. Cohabiting couples should there for be treated the same as if they were married.
“Social policy draws on sociology to explain the social context
of welfare provision. If we are trying to improve people’s
welfare, it is helpful to try to understand something about
the way people are, and how welfare policies relate to their situation.
www2.rgu.ac.uk/publicpolicy
Some social policies are made in the idea that all families are alike. If you are part of a nuclear family then you fall in a category and same for lone parents. The government does not look at different circumstances.
After looking at statistics and comparing the different family structures the final conclusion to this assignment is that family life has changed in most cases over the past decades. The nuclear family is no longer the main family structure, instead Britain consists of more reconstituted and lone parent families .It is not unacceptable to have children out of wedlock and due to the increase in divorce rates there are more lone parent families. Society now accepts remarriages and notices step families.
Government implantations for tax credits and housing benefits help aid families when needed. In the past the man was the ‘bread winner’, yet in today’s society the household income is generally contributed by both husband and wife. Also domestic duties are not always left for the women, men contribute to house work and child care. In some cases the man becomes a house husband, while the wife becomes the ‘bread winner’.
Every household is different and people have different views on what the ideal family should be. Today’s society has open views and accepts many different family structures.
BIBLOGRAPHY
Field F (2001) Making Welfare Work London Transaction Publishers
Hallam G Et al (2004) AS-Level sociology, Exam board: AQA The Revision Guide Newcastle upon Tyne Coordination Group Publications Ltd
Jowell R et al (2000) British Social Attitudes London Sage publications ltd
Moore S (2002) Social Welfare Alive! Cheltenham Nelson Thornes Ltd
Park A Et al (2005) British Social Attitudes London Sage Publication Ltd
Richards J (2003) Heath & Social Care hand book London Hodder & Stoughton
Class hand out Dose the state support or subvert the family
www2.rgu.ac.uk/publicpolicy
REFERENCES
Hallam G Et al (2004) AS-Level sociology, Exam board: AQA The Revision Guide
Moore S (2002) Social Welfare Alive! Cheltenham Nelson Thornes Ltd
Richards J (2003) Heath & Social Care hand book London Hodder & Stoughton
Class hand out Dose the state support or subvert the family
