TYPES OF FAMILY

Nuclear/cereal packet family

Single-parent family

extended family

Reconstituted family

Cohabiting couples

Singleton

Same-sex family

household

Bean pole family

What has happened to nuclear families?

Decreased – 25%

What has happened to single-parent

families?

Increased – 29%

REASONS FOR AN INCREASE IN ONE-PERSON HOUSEHOLDS

People live longer – aging population People who remain single and childless

throughout their lives Divorced International migrants Have partners but choose to live apart Live alone before marrying Decline in stigma Secularisation

Explain what sociologists mean by

family diversity (4 marks)

Patterns in marriage and divorce?

TRENDS

Trends in marriage:

Marriage rate is number of marriages per thousand per year

Marriage is decreasing 1981 marriage rate 7.1 2005 marriage rate 5.2 The age people are getting married has

increased Re-marriage accounts for 40% of

marriages

1. Approximately how many marriages are there in Britain every hour?

2. What happened to the number of marriages between 2011 and 2012?

a. 10b. 30c. 60

a. Stayed the sameb. Increasedc. Decreased

3. What percentage of marriages in Britain take place in a religious setting?

4. What is the average (mean) age of marriage for women in the UK?

a. 10%b. 30%c. 60%

a. 30 yearsb. 34 yearsc. 38 years

The number of divorces doubled from 1961-1969

Doubled again by 1972 Divorce rate peaked in 1993 Recently numbers have fallen but are 6

times higher than 1961 The Divorce Law Reform Act (1969)

FS LE EIStigma

Expectations

Laws

ExpensiveFeminism

SSecularisation

Increase in births outside of marriage and cohabitation

Explain what sociologists mean by

life-course analysis/life cycle (4

marks)

HOW RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PARENTS AND CHILDREN HAVE CHANGED

Parent-child relationships in the past Children were sent out to work as a means of family

income ‘Children should be seen and not heard’ ‘Childhood’ as a life-stage was recognised with the

Education Act (1918)

Contemporary parent-child relationships Less authoritarian more emphasis on individual

freedom Children are important members of the family, their

views are important Children have rights

What type of restrictions do we

place on children in the UK?

Mini-whiteboards

THINGS YOU CAN DO!Go to a young offenders institute if it can be proven you knew you were doing wrong

Buy a pet

Get a part-time job e.g. paper round

Buy a lottery ticket, age of consent

Buy alcohol, get married, get a tattoo etc

1. In pairs come up with at least three examples of how you think childhood may differ across, time, place and culture.

2. Make a list of all the ways in which we distinguish adults and children in modern UK society

TIF: Describe your experiences during your childhood. Was it a privileged time?

Childhood

WHAT CAN YOU CONCLUDE ABOUT THE EXPERIENCES OF CHILDHOOD FROM THESE PICTURES?

PRE INDUSTRIAL SOCIETY

Childhood as we know it did not exist

Children were ‘mini-adults’ who took part in the same work and play activities as adults.

Toys and games specifically for children did not exist.

Children were punished for crimes in the same way that adults were

High infant and indeed child mortality rates encouraged indifference and neglect

Children worked on land in fields

INDUSTRIAL FAMILY

Do you think childhood got better or worse? Explain your answer.

CHILD CENTRED SOCIETY

Special food/drink for kids

Have their own toys, TV programmes, play areas made

especially for them!!

Have their own doctors, teachers etc,

to care for them

Children are provided with an

education

1. Describe one way in which relations between parents and their children have changed in the past 50 years and explain why this change has happened. (5 marks)

2. Discuss how far sociologists would agree that changes in family size have led to families becoming more child-centred. (12 marks)

PERSPECTIVES AND THE FAMILY

Marxist, Feminist, Functionalist and New Right

FUNCTIONALIST Nuclear family key institution in society Individuals have basic needs that need

to be met for society to run smoothly Four main functions Reproduction Economic Emotional Primary socialisation

NEW RIGHT More recent version of the functionalist

approach Traditional, patriarchal, nuclear family is

the ideal family Children more likely to develop into stable

adults if brought up by both parents Young boys brought up by single-mothers

lack role models and become delinquent Woman carer man breadwinner Oppose gay rights, sexual freedom and

abortion

MARXIST

Conflict view Critical of the family The nuclear family allows social

inequalities to continue from one generation to the next – rich able to pass on huge wealth

Private education Ideology: through the socialization in the

family lower class groups are taught to accept their position in society

Unit of consumption

FEMINIST

Conflict view Critical of the family Has a negative impact on the lives of women Marriage benefits men more than women –

free domestic labour and sexual services The differences between men and women

are socially constructed and the family contributes to this through primary socialization – different language, clothes, toys

Young children learn how they are expected to behave and take on the roles they see their parents perform

Describe one criticism of the traditional nuclear family made by some sociologists and explain why other sociologists might not agree. [5 marks]

ROLE RELATIONSHIPS IN THE FAMILY

MALE AND FEMALE ROLES

Before the 1970s 70s’ to Present day Men and Women Modern Men and Women

ROLESSome Sociologists argue that from the nuclear family, joint conjugal roles have

come about. Bott (1957)Bott identified two types of ways which

household jobs can be shared.

These are the separate roles which are allocated to a man and a women in the home.

Segregated Roles Husband and wives lead separate lives and have distinct roles.

Joint Roles Husband and wife are more flexible in that they share tasks.

SYMMETRICAL FAMILY Willmott and Young (1971)Willmott and Young saw how the increase

in the nuclear family would lead to joint conjugal roles being developed.

Willmott and Young made a prediction that equal and shared responsibilities would be the norm for British families in the future.

ROLE CHANGESWillmott and Young claimed that although

the wife still continues to have primary responsibility, 72% of husbands get involved with housework tasks other

than washing up.

CRITICISM OF W&Y: FEMINIST PERSPECTIVEOakley (1974) Oakley argues that men only have to do

a few tasks around the house to qualify as having joint roles.

Oakley’s research found that it was rare for men to do a lot of housework.

Men participated in 15% of housework and 25% of childcare

Men ‘cherry pick’ the best jobs

INEQUALITY IN THE HOME

Triple shift- Paid employment - Housework - Emotional work which is needed in order

to make a relationship work.

OR

Dual burden

INEQUALITY IN THE HOMEPahl (1989, 1993)

Pahl carried out a study on how couples managed their money and discovered that just over a quarter of couple had system of money management where

by the degree of equality was fair.

Think about your household. Is there equalityWhen it comes to money management.

INEQUALITY IN THE HOMEEdgell…The decisions which men made

were: Moving House Finance CarThe decisions which women made

were: Interior Decorations Food and Other Domestic

Spending Children's Clothes

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Discuss how far sociologists would agree that the roles of men and women in the family have changed significantly in the past 50 years. (12 marks)

Explain what sociologists mean by authority relationships in families. (4 marks)

Explain what sociologists mean by the domestic division of labour. (4 marks)

WHY ARE WE LIVING LONGER?

Task: Draw a mind map to show the reasons why we are living longer. Work in pairs.

TIF task: Choose one factor from your mind map and explain in detail how it affects someone's life

expectancy.

Why are we living

longer?

WelfareDevelopments in pubic health e.g. sewage

system

Improvements in medicine &

healthcare

Reduction in infant

mortality

Why are we living

longer?

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF AN AGEING POPULATION?

Negative

Consume public services: healthcare housing transport

Increase in dependency ration: leads to higher taxes

Shortage of workers Pension time-

bomb

TIF: What are the positives to having an ageing population?

Provide free childcare

Charity volunteers often rely on elderly

people

Explain what sociologists mean by an ageing population (4 marks)