American Family Trends

The traditional American family consisting of a husband., wife and children is becoming less and less frequent. More people who are not legally married are living together. More and more children are being raised in single- parent families, by both poor women and by women who are professionally employed. Others postpone marriage and childbirth and as a consequence bear fewer children than women who many earlier. Among the educated more and more couples are deciding to have fewer and fewer children. An exception to this trend occurs among blacks, Hispanics and among the very, poor. In 1990 the size of the average American family was 3.2 individuals..

Marriages are either civil or performed in the church. Marriage has a: legal foundation which means that a Registry Office has a record of it and it carries certain economic rights. When getting married both parties sign the document of marriage, that is, a marriage certificate.

Young people rarely live with their parents. Usually, upon graduation • from high school children move out of the family home. To reduce expenses young people frequently rent apartments or a house. Usually two to five young people rent an apartment or a house together and share other expenses.

While young people are getting married later in life, the divorce rate is increasing. Roughly 50% of all marriages in the United States now end in divorce. In cases of divorce the financial support required from the breadwinner" will vary from case to case and if agreement is not possible between the two parties the court will decide. The cheapest way of getting a divorce is through the no-fault system, that is, two parties come to an agreement between themselves about the distribution of property. If there is no agreement then each hires a lawyer and the divorce will be very costly, up to $25,000 and more for legal fees alone.

The most ominous trend in American society is the increasingly high number of children being born to unmarried young people in poverty who are being raised without fathers. Two-thirds of black children are now being born in fatherless households. Undoubtedly these children are destined to add to the number of those in poverty and to those involved in delinquency and crime.

(from "Life and Issues in the USA")

Notes:

1. breadwinner - a person who works to support the family

2. ominous- threatening

3. delinquency - crime; wrong doing

Date: 2015-10-22; view: 1096; Нарушение авторских прав