However there were other sociologists that criticised Parsons’ ideas and beliefs about the family and how it was before and after Industrialisation occurred in Britain. A sociologist named Laslett had ideas that completely opposed those of Parsons in that the research he did gave him findings saying that in pre-industrial Britain the family was actually an isolated nuclear family, this was because people had such short lives that they often married and had children late in life meaning that they would never live to be grandparents. Laslett then discovered that it was when urbanisation occurred as a result of industrialisation, that families became classic extended as they moved in with extended family in the city as people became more geographically mobile.
Another sociologist that criticised Parsons’ theories was Anderson who also discovered that the family grew in size due to industrialisation as the extended family acted as a welfare unit when people moved to the city and cared for their sick and elderly family members.
Wilmott and Young were two sociologists who also had big ideas on the family and wrote a book about the evolution of the modern nuclear family and concluded that the family had gone through three major stages, and predicted a future fourth stage of the family structure. It was thought that the first stage was the pre-industrialised family being the unit of production, living and working on the land, but as industrialisation took effect this kind of family disappeared which leads onto stage two where these original families changed and grew in size in the mid 19th century as family became a welfare unit, this was essential for working class families economically. This kind of family was headed by the woman and relied heavily on the mother daughter relationship. Men and women lived very separate lives within this kind of family. The stage 2 families were still evident in the 1950s in East London, but were split by the 1960s as the working class were moved out onto the outskirts and couples began moving the suburbs to places like Dagenham and Luton.
This was what Wilmott and Young believed formed the third stage as extended families became symmetrical families and began to have more shared roles and equality. The trade union of women is disbanded and the husband returns to the home from his former life of leisure and work without proper marital relations. In the home work is shared as well as time.
So in conclusion it can be said that although sociologists haven’t all been able to agree upon the exact changes in the family that were brought on by industrialisation, it can definitely said that the changes have been great in terms of the sizes, the roles and the relationships.
The family went from being a unit of production on land and in small cottage industries such as brewing or weaving, whereas in the 20th century the unit has increasingly become a consuming unit exclusively, that is, the unit produces virtually nothing of what it consumes.
In the early family the relationship between husband and wife was usually one of economic necessity. The wife needed him to provide the necessary things for survival -- an income or produce from the farm, shelter and so on. The husband needed her to run the household -- prepare the meals, produce clothing, help in the storage of food and so forth. But the relationship between them was generally very separate as males and females sought companionship with same sex friends.
However today men and women marry for 'romantic' reasons, and not so much economic ones. Although a wife may expect her husband to provide for her and her children economically, this is a minor component. More than likely both men and women expect companionship, intellectual stimulation, conversation and other social exchanges. There is also a greater expectation of shared duties, inside and outside the household. The wife may work to help support the family; the husband may take an increased role in caring for the children.
