Text 4. The American Family

Most Americans identify their families as one of the most important aspects of their lives. It is becoming difficult, however, to describe what a typical American family is. The most common type of family in the United States is the nuclear family, which is normally made up of two generations - parents and their still-dependent children. The typical family is middle class, and there is generally some degree of equality between the husband and wife. Each family lives in its own separate residence, and it is not usual to share a house with one's grandparents or in-laws. American families are very mobile and are continually changing jobs and moving to other neighbourhoods. It is estimated that the average American family moves about once every five years. Child care in an American family is exclusively the responsibility of the parents, and children are taught to be independent at an early age. When they become adults, most children leave their parents' house and set up their own households even though they are not married.

The American family today is undergoing real change. For example most families have fewer children today, and some choose to have none. In addition, more than 50 per cent of mothers work outside the home due to a combination of economic reasons and the changing social climate. Divorce is quite common, and one of the most significant changes is that millions children are being brought up by only one parent, usually the mother. Nevertheless, most divorced people remarry, and many of these remarriages include at least one child from a former marriage. Therefore, many new patterns of family life are emerging in the United States as well as in manу West European countries.

The British Family

A "typical" British family used to consist of mother, father and their children, but in recent years there have been many changes in family life. Some of these have been caused by new laws, and others are the result of changes in society. For example, since the law made it easier to get divorce, thе number of divorces has increased. In fact one marriage in every three now ends in divorce. This means that there are a lot of one-parent families. Society is now more tolerant than it used to be of unmarried people, unmarried couples and single parents.

Another change has been caused by the fact that people are living longer nowadays, and many old people live alone following the death of their partners. As a result of these changes in the pattern of people's lives there are many households which consist of only one person or one adult and children (the same as in the USA).

You might think that marriage and the family are not so popular as they onсе were. However, the majority of divorced people marry again, and they sometimes take responsibility for a second family.

People in Great Britain move away from their home town to work, and so the family becomes scattered. Christmas is the traditional season for reunions. Although the family group is smaller nowadays than it used to be, relatives often travel many miles in order to spend the holiday together.

In general, each generation is keen to become independent of parents in establishing its own family unit, and this fact can lead to social as well as geographical differences within a larger family group.

b) Look through the texts again and compare the American and the British family with the typical Belarusian one according to the points.

	The American family	The British family	The Belarusian family
A typical family
Mobility of the family
Child care
Real changes in family life

Make up questions to the text and answer them in pairs.