A family is typically defined as “any of our immediate social groups within which we feel a strong sense of friendship, bonding or belonging.” In the Australian context, this is essentially true. A family in the Australian context is more than just “Mum, Dad and the two kids,” but is the people you are or feel closely related to. As well as this, a family must be made up of more than one person. In the Australian context families normally live together, so for the rest of this folio I will be assuming the definition of an Australian family as:
Two or more people living in the same house who are related by blood, marriage, (including de factos), adoption, step or fostering.
FAMILY STRUCTURES
Today, family structures are changing. Pre 1970s, most Australian families consisted of mum, dad and the kids (Type A), with 50% of families conforming to this structure in 1976. However, this type of family structure is changing, nowadays there are more single parent families (Type B), couples without dependant children (Type C), or other families which have related adults living together (for example brother and sister) where no couple or parent-child relationship exists (Type D). The statistics of these family structures have been changing over the past years
CHANGES IN WORK AND LEISURE PATTERNS
Definite changes in work patterns have been occurring over the past years. The number of Australians in paid employment is rising, for example from 1966 to 1998 the number of Australians in paid employment increased by 77%, from 4.8 million to 8.5 million. Employment rates for women are moving closer to rates for men, with an increase in the female employment rate across all age groups except the very young and the very old (and conc...
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In decades past one of the main family goals was to “own their house, have a Hills Hoist and drive a Holden.” Nowadays, family goals and aspirations are changing dramatically. Families now want to travel more, take more holidays, getting better education for children and many more. These changing goals certainly do have an impact on the foods families now purchase and the money spent on these purchases. Because many of these goals require a large sum of music, families now are cutting back on the money they are spending on food purchases – in fact, in the recent economic downturn; families now see takeaways as a splurge – an unnecessary expense.
HOW HAVE THESE CHANGES AFFECTED AUSTRALIAN FAMILIES?
These changes have all affected Australian families in different ways. I believe that attitudes to food, work, leisure, health and fitness have all changed.
Strachan, G., 2013. Still working for the man? Women's employment experiences in Australia since 1950. [Online]
Family used to be a single unit, consisting of a husband, wife and children. This unit was widely thought as a group based on marriage and biological parenthood as sharing a common residence and united by ties of affection, obligations, care, support, and a sense of common identity. However, due to the change in values, laws, family structure and social trends, the definition of family has been defined as a married or cohabiting couple with or without children living under one roof, children may be dependent or independent. (Office for national statistics) (2006)
Weeks, W & Quinn, M. (2000). Change and impact of restructure on Australian families: An introduction to key themes. Issues facing Australian families: Human services respond. Longman.
Family / p. 442: Two or more people who consider themselves related by blood, marriage, or adoption.
Sociologists view the family as a universal institution that is central to social life (Powell and Branden 2007). The family is defined as a group of people related by descent, marriage, or adoption (pg 365). Marriage plays a pivotal role in families, marriage is the socially acknowledged and approved and often legal union of two people, allowing them to live together and to have children by birth or adoption (pg 365). The key to understanding the family are the concepts of endogamy and exogamy; endogamy is marriage to someone with similar characteristics in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, education level, social class,
The Canadian family has been changing drastically over the 20th century. The definition of family has changed, along with the functions of families. Many modern families have veered from what we once considered the tradition family. This essay will discuss the different types of newly developed families, and some factors contributing to this change.
McDonald, P 1984, Can The Family Survive? - Change in Australia, Discussion Paper no. 11, Australian Institute of Family Studies, accessed 10 April 2012 http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/dp11.html
As we have learned through Skolnick’s book, as well as Rubin’s research, the make up of the family is influenced by many factors. The economy, culture, education, ethnicity/race, and tradition all help to create the modern family. The last few decades have heavily influenced the family structure, and while some try to preserve the past, others embrace the future. Through it all, we find you can have both.
In a Utopian society most of us would rejoice in knowing that two people such as Mel and Kel who care so deeply for one another, have found each other and are willing to spend the rest of their lives together. Unfortunately we don’t live in a society of that quality and admiration. In any culture, it’s generally conceived that the family is the absolute core of a society. In that, the norms and values of a civilization are directly conveyed from one generation to another through this bloodline. But what exactly is a family? Are there distinct specifications, qualifications or even guidelines that govern the framework for what a family should be? In the Webster’s dictionary a “family” is clearly defined as: “the basic unit in society having as its nucleus two or more adults living together and cooperating in the care and rearing of their own or adopted children.
Family as defined by Webster’s College Dictionary can be one of many different people. Family can be your parents, spouse, children, brother, sister, grandmother, uncle, any blood relative, or even people who are not blood related that share that common bond (Webster 475). My definition of family is similar to Webster’s, but I feel that there is more to it than just being a blood relative or close friend. A person’s actions, beliefs, and morals play a major role in deciding who makes it into that “family” group. Family becomes more of an idea or feeling, like love or hate, than just who a person is or where they fall in your family tree. There have been people that I have considered closer than family just by their actions, even though they were nowhere near related to me. Fortunately, I have not had any blood relation family members make me wish they were not in my “family” (maybe my older sister when we were younger, but that doesn’t count). While reading from Children and Families in our text, I came across many readings that I feel were inspired in many different ways by what the author believed was “family.” There were two readings that jumped out at me and reminded me of my view of how a family should be in their interactions with each other. They were the short story “Flight” by Doris Lessing and the poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes. There was also one writing that I read that went against my idea of family and made me happy that this wasn’t the way that my family acted as I grew up, that was “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid. And while some authors lean their writing one direction or another, Adrienn...
The film, “The Sociology of Families and Households”, examines families from a sociological perspective, as it discusses the ways in which the meaning of family has changed throughout history. To better understand how families have changed throughout several decades, the film discusses how structural functionalism, Marxist theory and feminist theory have played a role in defining what a family is, or was at that time in history. The film also examines a few key challenges facing families, such as divorce, single parent households, finding a balance between work and the family and the formation of stepfamilies. Conclusively, the film discusses how the changes in society affect how families function
A stepfamily occurs when parent’s divorce and later remarry bringing children from the previous marriage together to form a new family. In the twenty-first century, a stepchild is considered part of the immediate familial household when the biological parent is detached from the child but the stepparent is available. This is one type of non-traditional family. While they may not be traditional they can be equally supportive and caring. Multigenerational families are a group of relatives that live together and share in the household chores. Many families are now opting to move senior parents into their own homes instead of a retirement community because the bonds that have been generated throughout life help the seniors state of mind. A complex family has three or more adults living in the same household plus their children. This can happen through divorce and remarriage and through polygamy in countries where polygamy is legal. Adults that for various reasons cannot have children bring a child into their home to love and care for or one parent can legally adopt the biological child of the other parent. This is considered an adopted family and while there may be no blood relation it still has legal viability. Fosterage is also a branch of adoption where a family will temporarily bring another child into their home until more permanent
Family, a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household. Although family is a concretely defined term, the idea of family varies from person to person. But, what makes a family? For those who are surrounded by loving blood relatives, for those who have never known the one to grant them life, for those who have left their blood behind for a more loving and nurturing environment, what can commonly define a family? Family is something defined by the individual. Family includes those who you have come to love, whether platonically or romantically, those you have suffered with, those you have come to respect, and most importantly those you have cared for and in turn have cared for you. To one that could mean people who
Hayes, A., Weston, R., Qu, L., & Gray, M. (n.d.). Families then and now:1980-2010. Australian Government . Retrieved November 18, 2013, from http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/pubs/factssheets/fs2010conf/fs2010conf.html
A family might include anyone related by blood or by adoption such as: step parents, grandparents acting as parents, and even brothers and sisters sharing the same household. However, worldwide “the family is regarded as the most ba...