Text 1. Families and family life

A family may include parents and their children, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, as well as more distant relatives. But when British and American people use the word family they often mean only a mother, father and their children.

Society in Britain and the US is traditionally based on a nuclear family living in the same house and closely involved in each other’s lives. Fifty years ago, the typical family was a husband and wife, and two or three children. The father spent all day at work and made most of the decisions about how the money he earned was spent. The mother stayed at home to manage the house and look after the children. Children were expected to obey their parents.

Many modern families live rather differently, and because of this some people think that the family unit is dying and society is being weakened. Many couples still get married, but others live together without getting married. Another trend is for people to get married later in life and to have fewer children, so the size of the average family is shrinking.

Americans often move from city to city, so it is common for members of the extended family (=grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc.) to live far away. Families try to stay in contact with each other by writing and telephoning, and the Internet, by visiting occasionally, and sometimes by holding big family reunions. In Britain members of the same family may live close to each other and see each other regularly, but many do not.

Family loyalty is still important, and many people feel they have a duty to care for members of their family when they need it. But it is not part of British or American culture for old people to live with younger members of their family. Most elderly people live in their own homes and, when they cannot care for themselves, move into an old people’s home or a nursing home.

Some families are very child-centred (= put the children’s interests first). The closest families eat meals at the same time and spend their free time together. Some families, however, only see each other for a short time in the evening.

At the weekend families may go to sports games together, go shopping or go on trips to museums, parks, etc. In school holidays/vacations they may visit other family members or go to the beach.

American families are often criticized for they way they do things separately, though many people believe that it is good for children to learn to be independent. From an early age children are encouraged to decide what they want to do, eat or wear, and their parents try respect their opinions.