Family values
The following are what a majority of Americans agree as family values: 1. Respecting one’s parents 2. Being responsible for one’s actions 3. Having faith in God 4. Respecting authority 5. Married to the same person for a lifetime
Cohabitation
Cohabitation, or trial marriage has become widespread in America.
Many people, who choose to delay marriage or remain single, view cohabitation as an alternative to marriage. Approximately 45% of young people have cohabited for some length of time.
Divorce
Before 1970, divorce laws had based on the concept of fault. After 1970, all the 50 States adopted no-fault divorce. Divorce should be granted on the basis of irreconcilable differences that have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage . The majority of American women value companionship as the most important part of marriage. Other values, such as having economic support and the opportunity to have children, although important, are seen by many as less important. If the couple is not happy, the individuals may choose to get a DIVORCE.
Family Since the 1980s, many couples started to strive to build durable relationships based on more conventional values of the past— loyalty, trust and commitment.
Some Americans worry that there is too much democracy in the home, since there has been a significant decline in parental authority and children ’s respect for them, especially in teenagers. Some parents seem to have little control over the behavior of their teenage children, mainly after they turn 16, when they get their driver’s licenses.
Women and child care
Women’s Liberation Movement in the 1960s resulted in abortion rights, the creation of a great number of daycare centers, and equal access to professional opportunities.
Family life and social etiquette
Unit goals
To get a general knowledge of the American family To get acquainted with some American etiquette To learn some useful words and expressions concerning American family life and etiquette
Family
In the late 1960s and 1970s, an emphasis was placed on experimentation and freedom. Marriage was no longer “till death us do part” but “till we get bored”. Divorce rate increased dramatically during this period.
Family
The most important event that influenced families in the second half of the 20th century is the invention of birth control pills, which enabled people to actually plan childbearing.
But the following table shows that most domestic duties are still women’s work.
Women and child care
Task Laundry Shopping Cooking Cleaning Dishwashing Paperwork Child care Yard work Children 10 3 7 19 26 1 4 9 Husband 7 19 15 12 13 29 32 49 Wife 81 78 77 66 60 70 63 40 Non-family 2 0 1 3 1 0 2 2
Family values
6. Leaving the world in better shape 7. Giving emotional support to other members of the family 8. Respecting people for themselves 9. Developing greater skills in communicating one’s feelings 10. Respecting one’s children
American Family: The Emphasis on Individual Freedom
The primary responsibility of the American family member is not to advance the family as a group, either socially or economically. Family name and honor are less important than in aristocratic societies. Americans do not like to have controls placed on them by other family members.
American Family Structures : 1.Typical families (father, mother with usually two children under 18) 2. Married couples without children 3. Single parents and their children ( In 2006, 33% children are being raised in single parent families, and 90% single parent families are headed by females.) 4. Unrelated people living together 5. Homosexual couples (domestic partners) 6. Intercultural unions: marriages between people of different races or cultures
American Family: The Emphasis on Individual Freedom
Americans view family as a group whose primary purpose is to advance the happiness of individual members. The needs of each individual take priority in the life of the family.
25% of American people live alone.
Family
According to the US government, a family is those people who live with others to whom they are related by blood, marriage, or adoption. In colonial American society, family was a place of production, a primarily self-sufficient agricultural unit. The present concept of a family home is a place whose economic activities focus on consumption and child-care.