850,000 in the UK but still
many people believe that the extended family no longer plays an important role
in family life in contempory Britain. In this essay, I will try to establish
whether this family type is important or not.
Firstly, I believe the
extended family plays a significant role in family life because kin outside the
nuclear family can provide both practical and emotional support. Some examples
of support are advice, financial help, assistance with childcare, and emotional
support in time of crisis. Francis McGlone et al (1996) argued that the extended
family means a lot to us because his research highlighted that contact between
extended families was frequent although many kin live some distance apart. He
suggested rising living standards, growing car ownership and technological
developments made it easier for kin to keep in touch and to visit each other. I
also think extended families are important to people because most parents
continue to support their children even after they had left home. Data obtained
from the British Social Attitudes Survey (2001) illustrated that only about 10%
of adults did not see their parents frequently and over 60% of grandparents saw
their grandchildren at least once a
week.
On the other hand, one of my
friends says that the extended family no longer plays a significant role in
family life. He believes that the extended family was important in the past but
became less important due to rising wages and the welfare state as it made
nuclear families more self-reliant. Willmott and Young were sociologist who
studied family life in Bethnal Green (East London) in the 1950s and in the 1970s
predicted that the extended family would become less important as time went on.
They predicted this because when they conducted their research they found out
that the nuclear family had become dominant due to the strong conjugal bond
between husband and wife so other relatives outside the nuclear family lost
importance.
Secondly, I feel that the
extended family plays a huge role in family life because it has lots of
financial benefits such as fewer properties and cars to run, bills shared and
childcare. I think the extended family will gain more importance as time goes on
as families are facing a lot of financial problems (e.g. credit crunch) and need
support from their kin. The Skipton Building Society has suggested that the
extended family will triple in Britain over the next 20 years from 75,000 to
200,000. I also feel that the extended family plays a significant role in family
life as it offers a deep and meaningful family
relationship.
To conclude, I feel that the
extended family plays a significant role in family life as it has many positive
aspects and only some negative aspects. One of the main positive aspects is that
kin offers both emotional support and love, so I think that is the reason why
57% of men and 65% of women see family members or other relatives weekly or
nearly every week. The British Social Attitudes survey (2005) revealed that only
5% of men and 2% of women very rarely or never see other family members.
Finally, I think the extended family plays a significant role in family life
because it helps the working class as they need financial
help.
many people believe that the extended family no longer plays an important role
in family life in contempory Britain. In this essay, I will try to establish
whether this family type is important or not.
Firstly, I believe the
extended family plays a significant role in family life because kin outside the
nuclear family can provide both practical and emotional support. Some examples
of support are advice, financial help, assistance with childcare, and emotional
support in time of crisis. Francis McGlone et al (1996) argued that the extended
family means a lot to us because his research highlighted that contact between
extended families was frequent although many kin live some distance apart. He
suggested rising living standards, growing car ownership and technological
developments made it easier for kin to keep in touch and to visit each other. I
also think extended families are important to people because most parents
continue to support their children even after they had left home. Data obtained
from the British Social Attitudes Survey (2001) illustrated that only about 10%
of adults did not see their parents frequently and over 60% of grandparents saw
their grandchildren at least once a
week.
On the other hand, one of my
friends says that the extended family no longer plays a significant role in
family life. He believes that the extended family was important in the past but
became less important due to rising wages and the welfare state as it made
nuclear families more self-reliant. Willmott and Young were sociologist who
studied family life in Bethnal Green (East London) in the 1950s and in the 1970s
predicted that the extended family would become less important as time went on.
They predicted this because when they conducted their research they found out
that the nuclear family had become dominant due to the strong conjugal bond
between husband and wife so other relatives outside the nuclear family lost
importance.
Secondly, I feel that the
extended family plays a huge role in family life because it has lots of
financial benefits such as fewer properties and cars to run, bills shared and
childcare. I think the extended family will gain more importance as time goes on
as families are facing a lot of financial problems (e.g. credit crunch) and need
support from their kin. The Skipton Building Society has suggested that the
extended family will triple in Britain over the next 20 years from 75,000 to
200,000. I also feel that the extended family plays a significant role in family
life as it offers a deep and meaningful family
relationship.
To conclude, I feel that the
extended family plays a significant role in family life as it has many positive
aspects and only some negative aspects. One of the main positive aspects is that
kin offers both emotional support and love, so I think that is the reason why
57% of men and 65% of women see family members or other relatives weekly or
nearly every week. The British Social Attitudes survey (2005) revealed that only
5% of men and 2% of women very rarely or never see other family members.
Finally, I think the extended family plays a significant role in family life
because it helps the working class as they need financial
help.