3) How has the notion of the Singapore family changed over the years?
Originally in Singapore, family is defined as one’s spouse, parents, siblings and children. So a typical child then would be looked after by his grandparents and his playmates and study mates will be his cousins, brothers and sisters. His father and uncles will be out working while his mother and aunts will be at home doing housework. Nowadays, people seldom live with their elderly parents, giving them their own house to live in or dump them unceremoniously at an old folk’s home, totally forgetting the kindness their parents had shown them as children. However, some people still believe strongly in filial piety and look after their aged parents, but living with siblings after adulthood and marriage is quite rare now as most people do not live in big homes now. There is also a new trend of single-parent families. As people are more open about divorce and the role of women, single-parent family is also accepted as part of the society. Over the last few decades, numbers of unconventional families such as childless families and one-child families are increasing rapidly.
4) Does the extended family still have a place in modern society?
No. Many people get married and leave home, living alone. However, some still live with their parents, but there are only two main reasons for this, firstly just for the sake of doing so, so as to look after the elderly, or secondly, to exploit the elderly as free maids. Siblings seldom live together, due to the fact that marriage causes them to want to live alone with their spouses and children. Now a typical family consists of a couple, and 2-3 children. As the cost of living has increased rapidly over the past few years, extended family will mean a huge expense on basic needs. Therefore, nowadays only a few super rich families still remain the extended family type as they need more human resources for the future development of their business. The Chinese used to be very cautious about their surnames and that is why people of the same surname always form a big extended family. However, nowadays people are no longer so mindful of their surnames as a result of the influence of the western culture. Thus the number of extended families has dropped rapidly in the past few decades.
5) Do different families have different family values?
Yes. Some families believe in togetherness and living together with siblings and parents. However, some families get together and leave the elderly in old folk’s homes, or use them as free maids/cooks/babysitters.
6) What are some of the significant feature/differences between an Asian family and a western family?
An asian family is generally more traditional in thinking while western families are more open-minded.
A asian family’s traditional thinking may include practices like the women in the family stays at home to do household chores while the men work. Also, it is practice that the men in the family marry and the couple stays in the parental house while women are married into other families.
In a western family both sexes are treated with equal regard, and they have more freedom to do as they please.
7) What are the similarities and differences found between families of different class, racial and ethnic groups in Singapore?
In Singapore, richer people may stay together with their extended family because their finances allow it. Poorer people will stay in smaller homes. Racial and ethnic differences are few, and there is not much difference between how they live.
