How Have Relationships Within Families Changed Over Time? (AQA GCSE Sociology)

Pre-industrial, industrial and modern parent-child relationships

• Over time, there have been major changes in the dynamics of parent-child relationships

Pre-industrial parent-child relationships

• Children, beyond infancy, were not considered to have needs which differed from those of adults so the concept of childhood did not exist

• Young children started working at a young age to support their families because they were viewed as 'mini-adults' who had the same responsibilities and skills as adults

• Parental attitudes towards children were very different from today due to high death rates, which encouraged indifference and neglect towards infants

Industrial parent-child relationships

• In the 19th century, children's experiences differed according to their social class

  • Middle-class children were often looked after by a nurse

  • Working-class children (boys more so than girls) were expected to work in paid employment in factories such as cotton mills and coal mines

• Many girls were involved in unpaid work at home such as housework and childminding

• The state began to provide education, but since many parents relied on their children's income, poverty may have prevented them from sending their children to school

• According to Willmott and Young, childhood became officially recognised as a separate stage of life when children were legally required to attend school up to age 14 (Education Act, 1918)

Modern parent-child relationships

• As a result of their increased rights and recognition of their views, families are becoming increasingly child-centred

• Class differences still exist in that middle-class families are more likely to have democratic relationships with their children and involve them in major household decisions (such as moving house or where to go on holiday)

• Parent-child relationships are emotionally closer and parents are more attentive due to smaller family sizes

• The emphasis is less on punishment, obedience and parental authority and more on individual freedom

• However, one could argue that these changes have created a 'toxic' childhood as children are increasingly isolated

  • Due to mobile phones and social media, parents are no longer able to control what their children have access to

Financial dependence

• Young people are financially dependent on their families for longer, as the minimum school-leaving age was raised to 18 years in 2015

• Even though they may have part-time jobs, young people are legally limited in the number of hours they can work, and the national minimum wage is lower for those under 21

• Many young adults move back home to live with their parents, having originally moved away

  • They are known as boomerang kids who may return to the family home after university, a relationship breakdown or because of expensive housing

• This, as well as youth unemployment, can lead to conflict within the family

• However, children's dependence on the family can be questioned as:

  • many children contribute to childcare and housework

  • some children help out in family businesses

  • some children are young carers for a family member, providing emotional and practical support

  • children of immigrant parents may be asked to translate for their parents

• Therefore, it could be argued that children contribute a great deal to their families (Scott, 2004)

How people's relationships with wider family have changed

• Young and Willmott (1957) studied family life in Bethnal Green in 1950s London and found that:

  • the extended family flourished among working-class families as many young married couples lived with one set of parents

  • family ties were strong and 43% of daughters had seen their mothers within the previous 24 hours

• In their later study, Willmott and Young (1973) found that the nuclear family had become more separated from the extended family because of:

  • increasing geographical mobility (moving to another area of the UK or country)

  • women's increasing involvement in paid work and growing financial independence reduced the need for a supportive extended family

• It could be argued that the wider, extended family is becoming less important in Britain and that family ties are weakening

• However, due to cultural diversity, there is a relatively high percentage of extended families found in the British Asian community

Alternative view

• Charles et al. (2008) studied families in Swansea between 1960 and 2002 and found that family members continue to depend on each other

• There were high rates of in-person interactions between family members:

  • Grandparents regularly cared for their grandchildren, enabling young women to continue paid employment

  • Fathers helped adult children with home improvements

  • Adult children looked after their parents

  • Older grandchildren were involved in caring for their grandparents

• Geographical mobility impacted the support family members received, but it came in the form of telephone calls, visits and financial support