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Family Life Parents and children

What is a typical American family? The traditional one includes mom, dad, and the kids, but now there are many other combinations of family households. Eight percent are single-parent families, where only one parent lives with the children, while other families may consist of children living with a parent and a stepparent.

In general, the average number of people living together under one roof has gotten smaller. In 1960, there were 3.3 people in a household; now there are only 2.7. The number of children in a family is also much smaller, and children are usually encouraged to be independent and leave home, when they finish school and start working.

Recently, more children are staying at home with their parents longer, because their salaries are not high enough to cover the cost of living away from home. They also prefer the home comforts that their parents can offer.

Task 1. What is the best thing about living at home? What don’t you like about it? What would you miss when you leave?

Love, marriage, and divorce

People usually get married in their twenties or thirties, although some couples decide to live together without getting married. Many men and women stay single, because it is difficult to find a compatible person to date or marry. Some single people look for partners through personals, ads that appear in newspapers or internet. More divorced people or single people who have never married choose to live alone.

One out of two American marriages ends in divorce. It is a painful process for all family members, and many couples seek marriage counseling to try to prevent a divorce. Children of divorced families often live with their mothers. When the parents have joint custody of the children, the children often divide their time between each parent.

Task 2. What are your ideas about marriage? What is the right age to get married? Is it a good idea to advertise for a partner?

Task 3.1 If parents divorce, is it better for the children:

-to live with only their mother or their father?

-to live part of the time with each parent?

Task 3.2 Explain your answer.

Caring and sharing

In many families both the mother and father work; women represent more than 50 percent of the work force. The responsibilities of running a house and raising the children are now more equally shared between men and women than ever before. Fathers have become more involved in raising the children and taking care of their everyday needs, although mothers still spend more time caring for the children and doing the household chores.

When both parents work, they have to make child-care arrangements for their children. Some parents hire babysitters to stay home with babies or younger children. Others take their children to a day-care center. School-age children can go to an after-school program when the regular school day is over. Organizing family life can involve writing schedules to make sure everything gets done.

Task 4. Which household chores do mothers and fathers do in your country?

Task 5. Look at this schedule for a family where both parents work. The children are Mary and Jimmy.

  1. Who has to take the kids to school every day?

  2. What happens on Saturday afternoons?

  3. Look at the schedule from Monday through Thursday. What does dad do instead of mom on Friday?

SIMON FAMILY SCHEDULE

Sun

9:00

Dad – walk dog

Mon

8:00

Mom – take kids to school

5:00 Mom – pick up Mary from art and Jimmy from after-school

6:00 Mom – cook dinner

7:30 Mom – go to school meeting

Tues

8:00

Mom – take kids to school

5:00 Mom – pick up kids from after-school

6:00 Mom – cook dinner

8:00

Dad – go to club meeting

Wed

8:00

Mom – take kids to school

5:00 Mom – pick up kids from soccer practice

6:00 Mom – cook dinner

7:30 Mom – go to yoga

Thurs

8:00

Mom – take kids to school

5:00 Mom – pick up kids from chorus

6:00 Mom – cook dinner

Fri

8:00

Mom – take kids to school

5:00

Dad – pick up kids from after-school

6:00

Dad – cook dinner

7:30 Mom – go to chorus rehearsal

Sat

9:00

Dad – take kids to soccer practice

12:00

Mom – go food shopping

afternoon:

everybody – clean the house

Task 6. Make a weekly schedule. What chores do you have to do every day? Is there anything that you do only once or twice a week? How does the Simon family schedule compare with yours?

The Royal Family quiz:

1. What it the surname of the British Royal Family? a) Buckingham b) Windsor c) Kensington 2. Which member of the Royal Family is next in line to the throne? a) Prince Charles b) Prince William c) Prince Andrew 3. What’s the name of the Queen’s official residence in London? a) The Tower of London b) Buckingham Palace c) Westminster House 4. How many people work full time in the Royal Household? a) 245 b) 445 c) 645 5. Which member of the Royal Family died on 31st August 1997? a) Lady Diana b) The Queen Mother c) Princess Margaret 6. Which sport do Prince Charles and his sons like to play? a) Water polo b) Golf c) Polo 7. What is the official title of Prince Charles’ wife? a) Princess of Cornwall b) Queen of Cornwall c) Duchess of Cornwall 8. Which of the following things does the Queen not have? a) Number plates on her cars b) Money in her handbag c) A vote at general elections

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