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In recent years, the family structure and the role of its members are gradually changing. What kinds of changes can occur? Do you think these changes are positive and negative?

#years #structure #role #members #kinds #changes
It is true that these days the family structure has considerably shifted, and the changing
roles
 of men and
women
 in the family have become increasingly similar. There are several new forms of family composition, and in my opinion, these developments are not always desirable. In the past, nuclear
families
 where parents and their offspring living together under one roof used to be prevalent.
However
, there is now a huge trend towards single-parent
families
 due to more marriages ending in divorce, while the increase in cohabiting couple
families
 and stepfamilies is probably a result of cohabitation and remarriage becoming much more acceptable.
In addition
, the number of single-mother
families
 has increased as many mothers want to have children without getting married. In terms of changing parental
roles
 in a family, there has been a rise in the number of stay-at-home dads in recent years when it has become normal for
women
 to gain qualifications and pursue their own career paths.
This
 is in sharp contrast to about half a decade ago when men were breadwinners and
women
 were in charge of household chores in their
families
. In my view, the changes described above could have both positive and negative consequences. On the one hand, due to the lack of emotional attachment and legal binding, non-traditional households
such
 as stepfamilies and cohabiting parents are more prone to breaking down.
Consequently
, children of these
families
 are more likely to be involved in antisocial behaviours while their parents may experience feelings of loneliness and worry.
On the other hand
, the changes in the
roles
 of members of the family could be seen as progress because
women
 are not put under pressure to sacrifice their own careers to assume childcare and domestic responsibilities. In conclusion, I believe that the changes in the
roles
 of family members and the family structure are both positive and negative because of the aforementioned reasons.
Submitted by sandhb89 on

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Topic Vocabulary:
  • dual-income
  • gender roles
  • single-parent households
  • divorce rates
  • same-sex parents
  • multigenerational
  • family dynamics
  • aging population
  • communication technology
  • child-rearing approaches
  • work-life balance
  • remote working
  • family structure
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