Change in Family Relationships and Values Essay

Family has many different meanings to it but it seems as though we all want the same ideal family. The ideas of the â€Å"perfect† family come from old advertisements and television programs; they all have the same characteristics as one another. Everyone wants to live like families that lived in older times, but in reality it is nearly impossible for every family to be exactly the same and like old time families. Many things have influenced the change in families from how they used to be to how they are now. Social, economic, and historical changes have occurred that makes family relationships and family values different then they were. The ideal family of the past is no longer how modern families live but it is how they wish to live. In the 1950s, the impression of the ideal nuclear family was established. These families had a stable marriage, decent home, and enjoyed their children. The father worked all day but when he came home he was the head of the household and everybody listened to him. The mothers were in charge of cleaning the house, cooking the meals and tending to the children and her husband. Sons had more of an intimate and affectionate relationship with their fathers. Daughters were supposed to live up to their mother and be like them when they got older. Children also listened and respected their parents more back then (Coontz, 33-36). That is the basic description of what everyone wants his or her family to act. Times have changed but the ideal family of the past remains the same in today’s society. In reality there are more divorces, single parents, and more adoptions. Mothers do a lot more to support the family; they cook, clean, and have jobs during the day. Fathers work longer hours and do not have much time for their families. Children do not want to spend time or even talk to their parents in present day because they have better things to do. Things are very unbalanced today and there is not enough family time as there was back in the 1950s. The myth of the ideal family all began after World War II because there was child labor, income insecurity, the stock market crash, and the Great Depression before the war so it was hard to start a family and support each other. After the war is when families could focus on emotional and financial investments, reduce obligations and start anew (Coontz, 34). The return of soldiers also led to more marriages and childbearing increased. World War II began the economic recovery for that time. A lot of these changes have to do with economic growing and development. Back in the 1950s jobs were guaranteed for men and women did not have to work. Living arrangements were guaranteed as well. Husbands also made more than enough to support their family. The federal assistance was generous and welfare helped out with long-term life and housing. This made fewer worries for families and gave them more time to spend together (Coontz, 42-43). Now, men and women both are in the working industry and they still have a hard time keeping their jobs to supporting their family. There is not as much assistance as there was back then either. Now, men and women have to   work more so they have less time and more stress for their families, which causes more issues. Also, the development of technology has an influence on families. There was not a lot on technology back in the 1950s so individuals spent more time family bonding instead of playing video game or talking on their iPhones. Children now watch a lot of television and go on the computer instead of playing with their brothers and sisters outside or talking with their mom and dad. The technology has had a bad influence on families and taken away from family connections. New economic trends began to clash with social expectations. Many social changes have occurred from the 1950s to present day. Some social changes and conflicts that have occurred include same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage was not even a subject in the 1950s. People never talked about gays or lesbians because it was not the ideal lifestyle (Sullivan, 102). As time went on more and more has come up about same-sex marriage. Some people think it is okay while others are completely against it. But society acknowledges it more by having reality show and sitcoms with gay or lesbian actors on the show. They also started to pass laws that make it legal to have same-sex marriage in certain states. (Sullivan. 104) It is still believed to not be the ideal life but it is accepted more in present day then it was in the past. Individuals, families, and groups were excluded from certain changes. The blacks and African Americans were not part of the ideal family that everyone looked up to. They were looked down upon much more because they had different style families, but in recent research they found that social class is more important a ethnicity (Gerstel/Sarkisian, 61-62). From my own observation, I noticed that my parents act towards their parents and how my brothers and I act toward our parents are very different. My parents treat their parents with respect and help them whenever they need help. My brothers and I are more concerned about our social lives and do not care what our parents tell us. Situations like these show how much has changed in a short amount of time. As you can see many things have changed about families from generation to generation. The ideal family was established over 50 years ago and yet we still live up to those expectations. Many influences dealing with social, economical, and historical changes have occurred that should have altered our idea of the ideal family, but because everyone is still living up to those expectations, it makes today’s families look corrupt, when in reality the ideal family is just different in society today.