How Family Life Has Changed in Britain

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How family life has changed in Britain Different people have different views about what family really is. The Oxford dictionary defines family as “a group consisting of two parents and their children all living together as a unit”. In my view, a family is a collective number of people related by blood. British societies have placed strong emphasis on the importance of family to culture. “The family unit is a community of persons where moral values are taught and the spiritual and cultural heritage of society are passed on” says the Catholic Education resource Centre (2010). As more emphasis is placed on family importance, there is fear that traditional families have faded through time and is now replaced by modern families. “Family life is changing in the UK” reports Mark Easton, BBC home editor (02/05/2010). These changes automatically mean alterations in culture and traditions in Britain. As there is a cause for everything, this change that started from the twentieth century is due to the ways in which the family members relate to each other. So what has changed in British family values and norms? A typical/traditional British family is one which existed many years ago. However within the twentieth century, great changes occurred to family values and norms. A family, before the twentieth century used to be made up of a mother, father and children all living together under the same roof. Even when the children got older, they lived near their parents, in the same town if not on the same street. Today, most families are not complete. Most of the family members have left their families behind to pursue their own dreams in other places. According to the Office for National Statistics 2009, the proportion of people leaving... ... middle of paper ... ...British useless information. Blake Publishing 4. CeeCee Lynne, how family life has changed in one generation. Helium. Available at: 5. Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia. Divorce. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divorce (accessed 19/04/2010) 6. ANON., The cabinet office (2008). Families in Britain. Available at: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/111945/families_in_britain.pdf (accessed 22/04/2010) 7. ANON., Catholic education ( 2005) importance of family. http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/social_justice/sj00188.html accessed 22/04/2010) 8. Mark Easton (2010) how much is family life is changing?. BBC NEWS 2nd May. 9. ANON., (2008) families in Britain report. Policy exchange. Available at: www.policyexchange.org (accessed 2/05/2010)

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