REACTION PAPER IN THE VIDEO ABOUT

21st CENTURY FAMILY

Submitted by: CRESTELLA S. MADALANG

Stephanie Coontz, the first panelists who speak about 21st Century family states
that there are not just more types of living arrangements and families today. Most people
will move through different stages of living arrangements over their respective lifetimes.

Today, society is divided into haves and have-nots and I do’s and I do not. Coontz
states those in good marriages would not want any other living arrangement. But those
persons who would benefit the most from stable marriages are those least likely to have
resources to sustain stable marriages.

Fewer women are becoming mothers, and those who have children average two,
a key reason for the decline in the birthrate is the cost of raising children. Not only has
the fertility rate dropped but so has the rate of marriage, especially with young women,
who do the majority of childbearing. Thus, 41 percent of babies are born out of wedlock.
This trend is not uniform demographically.

More than 25 percent of these unwed mothers live with partners who might or
might not be the child’s biological fathers. The birthrate for teenage girls has dropped by
close to half since 1991, and by the turn of the century reached an all-time low. Working
mothers employed part- or full-time has quadrupled since the 1950s.

A surprising change in families is the recent decrease in the divorce rate. For
several decades, the divorce rate hovered at approximately 50 percent. The decline in
divorce is more pronounced in middle and upper-middle income couples who have
college degrees. The expectation is one in three marriages will end in divorce. This
prediction allows these couples to manage resources with confidence, and invest more
in their children.

Among baby boomers, the marriage failure rate has increased to 50 percent in the
last two decades. Divorce rates have not fallen for those who marry again and again.

The second speaker discuss about the implications of the evolution of family. Its
true that the despite the immense diversity of the family relationships, there is an enduring
attachment to family ties and commitment. But the problem that arises is that the
government has no support for this diversity even before. Marriage counselling demands
higher pay from the expert in marriage and parenting role. The challenges faced by the
parents nowadays according to the speaker are related to greater choices often means
greater stress, increased level of mobility evokes greater need of support both from
children and the partner relationship, the change of family values, how to balance family
and work and having a feeling of guilt if not spending time with the family. The speaker
shared about the value of family relationship between the children is equal to the
relationship between the partner parents.

The study conducted by the third speaker about the family project concluded that
of 500 couples under their studies 3 months before they gave birth to their child and 3
months after they gave birth. The speaker considers these things as a family gaps:
parents put all their energy to taking care of their children development while no one
taking care between the parents. In their study also they found out that when parents get
help to work on their issues as individual, as parent and as couples, as they struggling
with in, many of them end up with stronger relationships as couple, and become more
effective parenting strategies and their children adopt better challenges at school. Finally,
the speaker ended her speech by saying that “the couple may take care of their
relationship for the sake of their children.

The couple’s relationship and parenting are the topic of third speaker. He
discussed about family relationships are central to children’s happiness, alongside with
health, personal finance, education and skills-that contribute most to children’s overall
sense of wellbeing. According to him that studies have stablished that there is a strong
link between the quality of the parents’ relationship and positive outcomes for children
and families. This provides a clear argument that if parents are to protect the mental
health of their children, they need to be able to spend time building positive relationships
with them.

Adverse life experiences, the impact of key pressure points and the management
of difficult life transitions during this time of life have to be managed carefully, as these
can have a real impact on children that can last into adult life. Proper support and care
for child is needed during times of change and transition within their families.