Family Today

Family Today

What is a family today? What challenges does being a member of a

family present while traditional family structures change? Every

family has to struggle to balance the demands of work and children.

Also the relationship between each spouse can become more delicate and

complicated. Besides, the single parent has to face even more

challenges than any other.

Today, in a vast majority of families, both the wife and husband have

a job. Many working parents are under stress as they have to try to

balance the demands of their work, children and relationship. Over

the past 25 years, women's and men's roles have changed dramatically.

In fact, the world of work and home are not separate, research

indicates a profound impact on work and home life. As large numbers of

married couples work outside the home and have parenting

responsibilities, their multiple roles have grown. Therefore, the

combination of work and family roles generates a spillover of stress

in these two areas.

Balancing work and family is both a female and male issue. The demands

of work pull them away from family intimacy, while the demands of

family pull them in. Either extreme can be problematic for individuals

and their intimate relationships. Indeed, how to release the stress

and achieve the needs of an on-going relationship, are two of the

major challenges facing working parents.

The relationship between the parents of a working family becomes more

delicate and complicated when compared with the traditional family

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...g need, single parents must also

deal with their own emotional needs. And these are sometimes left

unfulfilled in the daily grind of single parenthood.

In conclusion, raising a family presents many challenges: rushing to

meet the demands of jobs, children and spouse; dealing with a variety

of problems, no matter if you are a single or married parent; trying

to accommodate personal needs. It is important for that parents who

have children and work outside the home to make sure they communicate

with each other and acknowledge each other's needs, consider carefully

their mutual responsibilities, and if faced with the breakdown of

their marriage, work to maintain a parental relationship which assists

their children to realize that each parent cares for them and remains

concerned about their emotional and maturing needs.