Essay Example on Family Life in the US: Changes Over the Last Decade

In the past decade, family life has undergone tremendous changes is in the US. This has been attributed by the decline in two-parent families as a result of many cases of divorce, single parenting as well as cohabitation and remarriage. Unlike in the 1960's when majority of children were sired within marriages, four out of ten children today are born to single women or those living with non-marital partners (Pew Research Centre, 2015). Besides, the decline in the number of family members among families in the US is another factor that has led to the many changes in the way most families appear today due to rises in infertility (Angier, 2013). Furthermore, family structures have transformed recently to a greater extent such that the role of mothers both at home and in the workplace has changed leading to many mothers taking the role of breadwinners in the family as more of then enter the workforce (Pew Research Centre, 2015). As a result, most families in the US are small now since not only are Americans having fewer children but the factors surrounding parenting have changed. This paper looks at how the societal changes and trends have changed families and communities in the US while proposing ways that early childhood educators handling the children raised in the changed families can address some of the trends in their programs as well as the ways that grandparents, fathers and other non-traditional families can be involved in the school setting where their children are raised and educated.

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Among the societal changes and trends surrounding the changing nature of the family in the US include the rise in prevalence of single parent families. Despite the trend to some extent having been attributed to the rising frequency of spouse death in the twentieth century, by the end of the nineteenth century, nuclear families has already started becoming a norm in most households in the US (Angier, 2013). Today, what had just been a norm among people in the western countries has grown to the extent that it has become an order of the day and cannot be further perceived as a norm in the twentieth century ("Recent Changes in Family Structure | Boundless Sociology," 2019). However, the changes that have come to affect the structure of the family can be traced back to the 1960's and 70's when the economic structure of the US was not in a position to support the nuclear family on a single wage and hence resulted to many changes on the family life. As a result of the economic times experienced in the US then, both men and women started delaying the age of their first marriages by spending more time in school to secure more skills that could land them better paying jobs ("Recent Changes in Family Structure | Boundless Sociology," 2019). Moreover, as many women enrolled in school to land them better paying jobs, it saw most women graduating with degrees that helped them survive economically without the support of men thus leading to a record of 40% of births to unmarried women in America being intentional and despite the existing gender gap in pay, women could still survive as single mothers and raise families (Jacobsen & Mather, 2012).

Another societal change and trend that has been responsible for the changing nature of families in the US is cohabitation among people of different genders whereby they live together without the benefit of legal, cultural or religious sanction. The population of US citizen cohabitating was reported at 4.85% in the year 2005 by the US Census Bureau showing an increase of more than 1000% from the 1960's (Jacobsen & Mather, 2012). Furthermore, the 2005 census showed that the most active age group of between 25 and 35 years were found to have a majority of them that preferred cohabitating over marriage (Jacobsen & Mather, 2012). Besides, most couples in the US have indicated that they first lived together before marrying officially a trend that has contributed to the high levels of family changes.

An increase in the number of same sex unions in the past one decade is another element responsible for the changes in families and communities in the US (Castelloe, 2011). After the year 2009, many states have legalized same sex marriages after the two that had earlier allowed it. After 2009, many states in the US have legalized same sex unions and thus jeopardizing the initial aim of families. As a per the 2010 census about 1% of the American population were married to partners of same sex an increase from the 0.5% posted in the 2000 census (Castelloe, 2011). Having doubled in just ten years, the number is expected to increase more in the coming years to a number that will be responsible to the many changes facing the family structure in the US.

In addition, the increased number of childfree couples has been on the rise in the US as many women in the age of child bearing and fertile that have no intentions of bearing children increases ("Recent Changes in Family Structure | Boundless Sociology," 2019). Besides, those women that choose sterilization or those that are beyond the age of bearing children but chose not to have also increased. Further, there is a trend in the US of women choosing to be temporarily childless or currently don't have children but would like to have them in the future. This has been facilitated by the availability of contraception along with the support provided in old age by systems other than the traditional familial ones (Castelloe, 2011). Additionally, some people have also chosen to undergo sterilization as a way of remaining childfree or relinquish their children for adoption. This has helped beat the odds that previously existed where choosing childlessness was difficult and undesirable in most societies across the US and the entire world.

Multi-partner fertility is also another societal change and trend that has characterized most marriages in the US as many partners have been reported to have biological children with more than one partner either within or outside marriage (Pew Research Centre, 2015). This has been attributed by the increased levels of divorces, separations, serial cohabitations and remarriages that have left many partners in the US with biological children with more than one partner they have had an affair with. According to the available data by the US Census Bureau almost 20% of women near the end of their childbearing period have biological children with more than one partner (Pew Research Centre, 2015). However, further research has indicated that most of the cases of multi-partner fertility issues are common among the blacks, Hispanics and the less educated. On the other side, the rise of blended families is another trend that has characterized families in the US in the past years.

According to recent research by the US Census Bureau indicate that 16% of children in the US live in blended families where they have siblings whom they share one parent but not both (Pew Research Centre, 2015). However, the number has not increased by a large value as compared to the 1990's when it was at 15% due to the increased literacy levels among Americans of all races. Besides, according to data by the National Center for Health Statistics a larger number of 63% of women in marriages are in blended families due to remarriages while about half of the remarriages involve step children who live with the remarried couple ("Recent Changes in Family Structure | Boundless Sociology," 2019). Majority of these population that live in blended families do not rely on race as both the Hispanic, black and white children have been reported to have equal chances of living in blended families.

However, the family being an important element of the society, there is the need for stakeholders such as childhood educators to be involved in countering these changes that risk eliminating both the institutions of marriage and family. Additionally, other non-traditional families such as fathers, divorcees and grandfathers need to be involved in the school and children care setting to save the marriage and family institution. Among the ways that childhood educators can be used to address some of these changes and trends in their programs include teaching children the different types of families that exists within the society and those that comprise them to avoid instances of some learning the places they hold in their families or those that they live with not being their biological parents in future which would adversely affect them psychologically. Furthermore, it would be prudent to come up with legislations that would not only allow children that either find themselves living with blended families or products if multi-partner fertility to have themselves recognized in their families legally. Grandparents, fathers, divorcees, single mothers as well as other non-traditional families need to be also recognized fully by the law as parents to the children they sire to help them meet the needs of their families as well as those of their children. Moreover, through their recognition by the law, they can take part in various school and child-care centers as they play the full roles of parents to their children in a school set up.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is evident that in the past two decades, various societal changes have taken place in the family set up of the US as a result of the various trends such as single parenthood, multi-partner fertility, and existence of childfree couples, cohabitation and increased numbers of same sex marriages. As a result of these changes on how the society views the institution of marriage there have been issues that never existed previously such as blended families, step siblings as well as step fathers who need a legislation to legally recognize such family settings to aid in various educational matters that need the collaboration of both parents and their children.

References

Angier, N. (2013, November 26). The Changing American Family. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/health/families.html

Castelloe, M. S. (2011). Changes in the American Family. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-me-in-we/201104/changes-in-the-american-family

Jacobsen, L. A., & Mather, M. (2012). Household Change in the United States - Population Reference Bureau. Retrieved from https://www.prb.org/us-household-change/

Pew Research Centre. (2015). The American family today. Retrieved from https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/12/17/1-the-american-family-today/

Recent Changes in Family Structure | Boundless Sociology. (2019). Retrieved July 10, 2019, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-sociology/chapter/recent-changes-in-family-structure/