The Family in History

Defining “Family”According to the Vanier Institute, FAMILY is:

Any combination of two or more people who are bound together over time by ties of mutual consent, birth, adoption or placement and who together assume the responsibilities for various combinations of the following tasks:

Physical maintenance & care of its group members;

Addition of new members through procreation or adoption/placement;

Socialization of Children;

Social control of its members;

Production, distribution, and consumption of goods & services;

Affective nurturance (i.e. LOVE)

How have families changed in just the last 50

years?Two parent nuclear family = higher divorce rates

Increased women in the workforce = males taking over more of the caregiver role (paternity leave)

Shift in importance of the child in the family unit = “helicopter parenting” due to changes in the WAY we parent

Same-sex unions & shifts in marital values (decline in religiosity)

How have families changed throughout

history?

The Hunter Gatherers

• The first groupings may have occurred because of a unique human characteristic

• OUR LARGE BRAINS• Non-human primate social

organization does not help explain our earliest ancestors

• WHY?

Non-human primates

• No dominant male• Do not co-operate in systematic

food sharing• Do not regulate sexual activity

• The first groupings of humans may have been hordes or bands

• These consisted of loose groupings of males and females

• Roles of all individuals based on daily need for food

• Who provided the most food?• Women – small game, vegetables and plants• Men – large game

Agricultural families• Hunter gatherers became stationary

as food became more available through farming and fishing

• Trend was toward couples marrying• Man could support own children and

spend time with individual female• More people required to work the land and tend to animals

What was now the role of women?

•Children•Domestic work•Work the fields

New family organization

• Families now highly organized• “Head” of the family was typically

the oldest male• Patriarchy (male as head of family) • Matriarchal systems are rare

Types of organization

• Monogamy – having one marital partner• Serial monogamy – having a series of

single partners• Polygamy – practice of having several

spouses• Polygyny – man has more than one wife• Polyandry – wife has several husbands

Pre-Industrial families

• Villages and towns began to emerge• Associated trade and service

economies arose• Fewer families were relying on

agriculture• What impact did this have?• Not as many children needed• Less than 50% reached adulthood

Urban Industrial Families

• The family became a consumer instead of a producer

• Men were the providers• Women were the nurturers

Age of Innocence for children

• Compulsory education until the age of 14 was introduced

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAeRkPI0K0Y&feature=related

1915

• World War I

1920

• Roaring Twenties

1930

• The Great Depression

1940

• World War II ends• Mass migration of families to

Canada• Post-war was the beginning of the

consumer family• Adolescence emerged as a distinct

age

1950• People wanted to live as industrial

nuclear families• Baby boom continues

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh2ZoMPBUwo&feature=related

1960

• Weakening influence of the church• Women’s rights• Civil rights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU-eOk8msA0&feature=related

1970’s

• More women were joining the workforce

• Recession in the late 70’s

1980's

• Most families were duel-income• Technology boom – birth of the

internet creating a “culture of fear”• Divorce rates on the rise• “Sex Sells” mentality• “Materialism” ideology• Androgyny (combo of masculine and feminine

characteristics