22.Old age problems

Elderly people have no time to make some more mistakes and to ignore somebody younger than they are. As a rule, they complete their social activity and retire. These people have no parents and depend on the social situation in the country. If they have no children or other relatives to help, they may find themselves in a hopeless situation. Their health becomes weaker as well as their vision and memory; sometimes they are not able to get around without someone's help.

Even physically firm people have some psychological problems. They can lose their popularity and feel their worthlessness. They realize that their ideals are not in fashion and the new generation tend to defend their own ideals and standards that may seem odd for old men and women. They think that their wisdom is the point fpr the youth and sometimes they really can help, but untiring young people continue to look for new ways, decisions and forms and this is the main point, the blessing progress.

Some people think that there is a way to stay young such as going in for sports, moving style of life, running in the park, marriages with young girls, various diets and recipes. All this would be helpful or not, but won't you really need to cut the tree, if you want to get the apple?

I think that indeed elderly people need help and they undoubtedly deserve universal esteem and honour for their work and social activity in the past. In addition, I am quite sure that a cranky, unfriendly old man can become younger being involved in a new business if he himself sincerely wishes to help his young comrades.

Law pension, be economical, to save money, poor medical support, high prices for medicines.

20. Family matters.

There are many different views on family life. Some people could not do without the support and love of their families. Others say it is the source of most of our problems. Whatever the truth is, the family is definitely a powerful symbol. There are a lot of types of families. I would like to tell you a few words about typical family.

A typical Russian family consists of mother, father and one or two children. Grandparents can live together with their children too and it is typical for poor families, which don't have much accommodation/place to live. And the number of children depends on what social lay this particular family belongs to. Nowadays it is very difficult to have many children and especially in big cities, because life becomes more expensive year-by-year and parents have to work very hard to provide for their children, to give them good education and sometimes just to live on  in our dull world. And I think it is much easier to care about one child than to do you best to provide for two. Of course if parents earn enough money they can have more than only one child.

In Russia parents usually help their children even when they have their own families. But usually grandparents live apart their children and grandchildren. The institution called 'grandma' is a typical one for Russia. It means that grandmothers take grandchildren for weekends, holidays or when their parents don't have time to be with them. That way grandmothers try to help their children and at the same time they try to be with their loved grandchildren. Children in Russia are not so independent as children in England. The laws are particularly the same, but it is more difficult to realize them in life. For example, you won't be able to get work at the age of 14, because when you come to get work you are asked what experience have you had. And what can you answer if you just want to start work. Many children don't have an opportunity to have good education because they have to begin working at the moment they finished school. As in England young people get married after the age of 18 without parents' consent. And the time when they get married depends on what social lay they belong to.

One-parent families

The family is the most basic and ancient of all institutions. Unfornunately we see many indications that the family is in decline in such things as the increased number of one-parent families, the current high divorce rate, drug taking problems, sexual activity before marriage, increased number of abortions.

Most pwople get married between the ages of 20 and 23 but many marriages end in divorce. This means that there is a large number of single parent families. One father of mother looking after their children alone.

Nowadays there is a practice of adoption a child by a single woman.

The median age of a lone parent is 36 and only 2 per cent of lone parents are teenage mothers. One in ten lone parents ia s father. Nine out of ten lon parents are women.

There are a lot of problems which concern one-parent families. The main problem is econobic problem. The family’s budget depends on employment of the main member of the family, financial support of relatives and lower incomes.

Upbringing of a child is the other problem in one-parent families. Even the most careful mother in a single parent families has little time for upbringing her child. Children are placed at themselves’ disposal because of mothers’ excessive busy.

The doctors have come to the conclusion that children from one-parent families more often expose to chronic diseases.

It is very important to be a good single parent after divorse. Don’t allow your strained relations with ex-husband (wife) to disturb in contact with children. Love yourself and take care of yourself. It is better for children if there is a person with valuable life next to him. Try to spend more time with your children. A lot of people think that a child from one-parent family can be as well-educated and take so mush love and caress as a child from full family.

Types of parents

The relations in family depend on the style of family upbringin. There are four styles of upbringing.

The first is harmonious style. It includes love, responsibilities, attention, parents’ authority. Parents realize their important role in children’s life. They understand which requirements they need to dictate or to discuss. Every members of such family can mix with each other, trust and lend support.

The second type of upbringing is liberal style. This style includes warm parents relation and a low level of control. Such parents often forgive child’s weaknesses. Parents don’t install any limitations. That is why children inclined to disobedience and aggression.

The third style is authoritarian. It includes a high level of control, requirements, rules. Parents don’t discuss any rules with their children. They only install them. In such families children are usually gloomy and reserved.

The fourth style is indifferent. Children are place themselves’ disposal in this family. It also includes negative behaviour, breaking of the law, bad studies. Cheldren often solve their problems on their own. Children’s upbringing is not important for parents as they have their own troubles.