My aims are:
- To find out if nuclear families are declining in modern Britain,
- To find out if different types of family if different types of family structure such as single parent family and reconstituted families are increasing in the modern Britain
- To find out if attitudes towards family diversity are becoming more positive in modern Britain or not.
I have chosen this topic because I felt that nuclear family is decreasing in UK. The first reason is high divorce rate in Britain, under age pregnancies and abortions. This shows that Britain has less marriage or more reconstituted families. To prove whether it is true or not I have chosen this topic. In the contempt of Britain it is easy to move a nuclear family than an extended family.
The other reasons is modern Britain has taken over these functions for e.g. doctors and hospitals, banks, schools, and so on. But in olden days it was important staying in an extended family, because they needed people to take care of them when they were sick or old, to lend or borrow money, to teach etc. the decrease of nuclear is becoming increasingly important in Britain due many reasons. If nuclear family extents the younger generation will not have sufficient guidance given in the form of both parents
One of the concepts is the role models because the children in lone parents will get to know only one role model of one sex. This might not help them in future because they might get the wrong role model. The economical support is important because children are not allowed to earn money until they are 16 years old. So they have to depend on their parents, whilst a lone parent family there is only single earning is in some cases the parents might not afford that much money. If it was a nuclear family it will make it more easy because there will be more than two earnings in the house. A nuclear family suggests man and women living together living to gather either as a married or cohabiting couple in a house or flat with their children. This act as a unit, separate from and independent of other relatives. This type of family provides comforts and security for its adult’s members as well as for the children. Children find it difficult to earn to love by some one who loves them. Functionalists argue that nuclear family is the best parents need each other for love and support in or to be able to cope with demands of bringing up children.
Here are the different types of families in modern Britain except nuclear family
Lone parent family: this type of family has once parent bringing up their own children
Reconstituted family: this type of family is a formed when at least one of the love partners in a marriage or permanent relationship has children previous relationships (a step family).
Extended family: a family in a group of three or more generations extended express the continuity of the family by recognising that when some one marries and has a family in to which he or she was born extended families members include grand parents, aunties, cousins, in-laws.
Cohabiting couple family: the family formed by a couple who whilst living to gather in stable relationship and are not married
There are different families because it so easy to separate people and identify what type of family they belong to.
My theory is that functionalities argue that nuclear family is the best type of family in which parents need each other for love and support in order to be able to cope up with the demands of bringing up the children.
In the 1980’s a new of family was suggested by people who come from the new right. The new right agreed with the functionalist view that the nuclear fami8ly was the best family type. The new right view suggests that if children are to develop in to stable healthy adults, they must be bought up by married parents. They argu8e this is because children who live with two parent are thought do better physically, educationally, psychologically and socially than children who live with just one parent. The new right view is often seen but sociologists as an attack on lone parent familie4s, fatherless families and same –sex families.
The new right believes that family values are important. A sociologist Jewson conducted some research on the new right view of the family in 1994 and found that
- Family values based on the view that there is a normal family type, which consists of a mom, dad and children.
- Supporters of family values believe that the women’s role in the family is to look after her husband and children. They believe the man’s role is to go out work and earn the money.
- Family members have a duty to look after each other and should take on the responsibility for looking after old, sick and unemployed relatives
- Supporters of family values tend to disagree with many modern social ideas such as equal rights or homosexuals, sex education and abortion.
Ann Oakley important feminist sociologist conducted a small scale study of the house holds surveys entitled the sociology of house work. She treated housework as work. She found that housework as having low status despite the fact that an average such workers work for 77 hours per week. She linked this low status to the fact that most hours work is done by women.
Hear is a table which tells us about the increase of the divorce from 1961 to 1990.
This table is taken from a book called THE FAMILY AND MARRIAGE
The graph explains us that the total divorce’s in Britain is increased from 27 to 168. This tells us that there are more nuclear family is decreasing. Because there are people who are living in a nuclear family will not live in a nuclear family if they are divorced.
Family is Important because it is essential for social stability. Nuclear family is the best because two parents can share responsibilities for providing for the child’s physical needs. To regulate sexual activities which will be relating to people being faithful with their husband/wife and they will not have any sexual relationship with any body else. The children have the primary socialisation which is basically there are 3 parents to teach them an, if they have any brothers or sisters it will be more helpful. Nuclear family is best to provide economic support, because others cannot give money for you or your children. Because it is a family the children can ask their family and they will always be ready to give what you want. This is also possible when both the parents are going. You can share your feelings to your family than to your friends. The family cares for you, and they protect you in a way where for example you are upset because of one of your parent you have the other parent to help you, or if you are upset because of both the parents you might be comforted by your brother or sister. Parents can love and support each other.
PRIMARY RESEARCH
SECENDARY RESEARCH
I found an information in a book which told us that there are more divorces in Britain since 1961 to 1990and the divorce rate has increased from 2.1 to 12.9.Tsociologists have argued that there should be more nuclear families in Britain because it the single parent families are having more difficulties in the family because that have to take care of every thing and they will not have any help of any one to share there work lode. This might led the parents to a situation where they have to not take much care of their children.
Ann Oakley important feminist sociologist conducted a small scale study of the house holds surveys entitled the sociology of house work. She treated housework as work. She found that housework as having low status despite the fact that an average such workers work for 77 hours per week. She linked this low status to the fact that most hours work is done by women.
This is a table that I found in a book family and marriage chapter 8. This table tells us that there was a high rate of divorce in UK. In the year 1961 there were 27 divorces and in 1971 there were 80 divorces.
