Change in Families
8/23/2013
Changes in Families
Within the last two generations, I can see the change in my family. Beginning with the generation immediately before mine; my mother was the only one out of 7 siblings to make it to a four year college. While, most of her siblings have good work ethic, a lot of emphasis was not placed on education. In my generation, I have quite a few cousins including myself, that have completed some form of higher education. Another personal observation is that most of my mother’s siblings are married or have been married at some time in their lives. However, my mother grow up in a single parent household, I grow up in a single parent household and I now my daughter is growing up in a single parent household.
As I reflect on the idea of marriage, this is a subject that I have very little knowledge. Neither my mother nor I have ever been married. What is marriage? Marriage is defined in the U. S. as “a legal contract between a woman and a man who are at or above a specified age and who are not already legally married to someone else”. The textbook definition is “a union between people (whether widely or legally recognized or not) that unites partners sexually, socially and economically: that is relatively consistent over time; and that accords each member certain agreed-upon rights” (Schwartz & Scott, 2012). I disagree, with the latter definition because it is too broad and will give virtually every couple the same rights as a legally married couple. If this definition were to be true; where would the sanctity of marriage be? People would abuse marriage and create chaos if things don’t work out as planned, if everyone chose to view marriage by the textbook’s definition. In reading the text, I find that some of my views on family are in some ways similar and in other ways different. What is family? According to the text, the definition is as follows: two or more persons (one of whom is the householder) living together and related
Changes in Families
Within the last two generations, I can see the change in my family. Beginning with the generation immediately before mine; my mother was the only one out of 7 siblings to make it to a four year college. While, most of her siblings have good work ethic, a lot of emphasis was not placed on education. In my generation, I have quite a few cousins including myself, that have completed some form of higher education. Another personal observation is that most of my mother’s siblings are married or have been married at some time in their lives. However, my mother grow up in a single parent household, I grow up in a single parent household and I now my daughter is growing up in a single parent household.
As I reflect on the idea of marriage, this is a subject that I have very little knowledge. Neither my mother nor I have ever been married. What is marriage? Marriage is defined in the U. S. as “a legal contract between a woman and a man who are at or above a specified age and who are not already legally married to someone else”. The textbook definition is “a union between people (whether widely or legally recognized or not) that unites partners sexually, socially and economically: that is relatively consistent over time; and that accords each member certain agreed-upon rights” (Schwartz & Scott, 2012). I disagree, with the latter definition because it is too broad and will give virtually every couple the same rights as a legally married couple. If this definition were to be true; where would the sanctity of marriage be? People would abuse marriage and create chaos if things don’t work out as planned, if everyone chose to view marriage by the textbook’s definition. In reading the text, I find that some of my views on family are in some ways similar and in other ways different. What is family? According to the text, the definition is as follows: two or more persons (one of whom is the householder) living together and related
Citations: Schwartz, M., & Scott, B. (2012). Marriages and Families: Diversity and Change.