7. Read the text once again and prepare to speak about American families using words and phrases from the text:

a)  Child raising in the USA:

• to treat newborns

• to teach customs and values

• to preserve one’s privacy

• to be responsible for one’s living space

• to instill values in children

• to cut the cord

• to be tied to mother’s apron strings

• to establish autonomy

• to learn the value of a dollar

b) the period of adulthood and getting independence:

• to leave the nest

• to live in parents’ home

• to find social relationships and financial support outside the family

• to arrange marriages

• to meet future spouses

• to approve of one’s choice

• to lose autonomy

• to raise a kid

• to be self-reliant

c) life of the elderly people:

• to provide financial support by government sponsored social security or welfare system

• to decrease dependence n the family

• senior citizen centers

• peer group associations

• to place older relatives in nursing homes

• to find nursing care

• to live in retirement communities

• the companionship of peers

• recreational and health services

• separation of generations

d) the types of families and challenges facing families:

• nuclear, extended families

• a single parent family

• reliance on extended family members

• to have intensive contact with relatives

• to establish communal living

• family ties and obligations

• to have strong obligations to other relatives

• to have one’s own separate residence

• to be economically independent

• to be heads of households

• to borrow money from

• to help with down payment

• to “pool” money

e) issue of working wives and husbands:

• to impose set gender roles

• to be responsible for financial/ emotional support, child raising, housekeeping;

• a breadwinner

• to live on one’s salary

• to contribute to the family income

• to work outside the home

• to be responsible for the maintenance, care of the household and children

• to pursue one’s interests

• to fulfill oneself

• to contribute to the larger society

• to find day care

• to obtain flexible work schedules

• to coordinate one’s time between home and work

• to change work patterns

• dual career couples

• to be strongly committed to one’s profession

6. challenges of single parent families:

• to end in divorce

• to receive alimony

• to be stretched to one’s limits

• to carry the burden of supporting a family

• step families, blended families

• to bring both sets of children into the marriage;

8. Make up dialogues about typical features of Ukrainian family with the American one.

9. Fill in the chart:

American family values	Ukrainian family values
1.	1.
2.	2.
3.	3.
4.	4.
5.	5.

10. Sum up the info of this article. Present your reports in class concentrating on:

• concerns of society about family as an institution;

• functions of a family;

• changes in American families;

• the history of American families.

The American Family

by Maura Christopher

The United States has many different types of families. While most American families are traditional, comprising a father, mother and one or more children, 23 percent of all American families in 1983 were headed by one parent, usually a woman. In a few families in the United Slates, there are no children. These childless couples may believe that they would not make good parents; they may want freedom from the responsibilities of child-rearing; or, perhaps they are not physically able to have children. Other families in the United Slates have one adult who is a step-parent. A stepmother or stepfather is a person who joins a family by marrying a father or mother.

Americans tolerate and accept these different types of families. In the United States, people have the right to privacy and Americans do not believe in telling other Americans what type of family group they must belong to. They respect each other's choices regarding family groups.

Families are very important to Americans. One sign that this is true is that Americans show great concern about the family as an institution. Many Americans believe there are too many divorces. They worry that teenagers are not obeying their parents. They are concerned about whether working women can properly care for their children. They also worry that too many families live m poverty. In one nationwide survey, about 80 percent Americans polled said the American is in trouble. At the same time, when these people were asked about their own families they were much more hopeful. Most said they are happy with their home life.

How can Americans be happy with their individual families but worried about families in general? Newspapers, motion pictures and television shows in the United States highlight difficulties within families. Family crime, problems and abuse become news stories. But most families do not experience these troubles. Since the earliest days of the United States, people have been predicting the decline of the family. In 1859, a newspaper in the city of Boston printed these words: "The family in the old sense is disappearing from our land." Those words could have been written yesterday. But the truth is that families are stronger than many people think.

Nine out of 10 people in the United States live as members of families and they value their families highly. In one poll, 92 percent of the people who were questioned said their family was very important to them.

Families give us a sense of belonging and a sense of tradition Families give us strength and purpose. Our families show us who we are. As one American expert who studies families says, "The things we need most deeply in our lives – love, communication, respect and good relationship - have their beginnings in the family."

Families serve many functions. They provide a setting in which children can be born and reared. Families help educate their members. Parents teach their children values — what they think is important. They teach their children daily skills, such as how to ride a bicycle. They also teach them common practices and customs, such as respect for elders and celebrating holidays. Some families provide each member a place to earn money. In the United States, however, most people earn money outside the home. The most important job for a family is to give emotional support and security.

Families in a fast-paced, urban country such as the United States face many difficulties. American families adjust to the pressures of modem society by changing. These changes are not necessarily good or had. They are simply the way Americans adjust to their world.