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Effects of divorce on children's development
Effects of divorce on children's development
Effects of divorce on children's development
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I agree with some of Barbara Kingsolver’s statement, but not all of it. I agree when she says traditional families are for the most part are stable and show successful relationships to their children. However, I do not agree when she says the traditional Barbie and Ken households are never disassembled by divorce. I also do not agree when Kingsolver said the divorce people, gay families, Brady Bunch families, and single parent households result in failures for children. I agree when Kingsolver says that traditional families have more stability for their children. My parents are together and we do have stability. It is still hectic because of three children going in different directions but at the end of the day, we are all together sitting at the dinner table talking about how are day went. My parents do model for me how a married relationship should be like. They show me how strong their love is and how I should be able to find someone who loves me just like my parents love each other. Their relationship had made each of their children successful. I do not agree when Kingsolver says that the …show more content…
traditional Barbie and Ken households are never broken up by divorce. I believe this is inaccurate because every relationship has the option for failure. Just because two people seem perfect for each other, does not mean that they are. People are always able to change. When you first meet someone, they could seem perfect for you, but after getting to know them, they can seem not so right for you. Also, you could get married to someone and they could have a life-altering thing happen to them and they could completely change who they are. Barbie and Ken households have the ability to work out, but a household can always change. I also do not agree when Kingsolver says that divorce families, gay families, Brady Bunch families, and single parents set their children up for failure.
In some cases this is the truth, but not it all. Even though there can be struggles with these types of families, it does not mean their children will have bad lives. For example, my cousins were divorced and their children still succeeded in their lives. The children did not take the divorce as a way to “act out” or drop out of school. One of the children is even recently engaged. Just because your parents get divorce, does not mean the children fail in the world. The parents can still be models towards their children. This example proves that a divorced family does not have to destroy a family. Even though Kingsolver has some good points, I do not believe her statement is completely
accurate.
Society considers divorce as a failure and a destruction to a family unit when in reality divorce should be considered normal considering that the majority of families are blended or single parent homes. Barbara Kingsolver, an american novelist and essayist states her thoughts about divorce, blended and broken families in her essay titled “Stone Soup.” She argues that no family is perfect and that all families have problems. She uses examples, statistics and metaphors to persuade her readers of what a true family is. She informs us based on her own life experiences: her values, changes, and choices which ended in her divorce.
One definition is “a significant social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children.” While such definition is a good starting point, some modern family structures are excluded by such definition. In her essay, “Family: Idea, Institution, and Controversy,” Betty Farrell apparently assumes that the traditional family has dramatically changed, and the dynamics of change—altered the definition of a “family.” A family is no longer a picture of a particular image of the mythic past, referring to the golden days of the “1950s.” It is no longer a father, mother and their biological children living together under one roof (and certainly not with the a breadwinner father and a stay-at-home mother). In today 's modern society, it is now common to see women raising their children by themselves without their husbands’ help; unmarried couples living together; and gay and lesbian couples—while far from being universally accepted—adopting and raising children to complete their families. Therefore, despite the children living in one-parent households, or they do not live with their “married-heterosexual-biological-parents” under the same roof—does not necessarily mean they are not families. Farrell states that “a family is defined not so much by a particular set of people as by the quality of relationships that bind them together.” In other words, Farrell believes that a “family” is more than just a collection
Traditional family in today’s society is rather a fantasy, a fairy tale without the happy ending. Everyone belongs to a family, but the ideology that the family is built around is the tell tale. Family structures have undeniably changed, moving away from the conventional family model. Nowadays more mothers work outside of the home, more fathers are asked to help with housework, and more women are choosing to have children solo. Today there are families that have a mom and a dad living in the same home, there are step-families, and families that have just a mother or just a father. Probably the most scrutinized could be families that consist of two moms or two dads. These are all examples of families and if all members are appropriately happy and healthy then these families are okay and should incontestably be accepted. So why is the fantasy of the traditional family model still so emphasized in our society? This expectation is degrading and misleading. Progressing with times one ought not be criticized or shunned for being true to their beliefs. It is those living falsely, living as society thinks they should that are the problem. Perhaps as a society, if there were more focus and concern for happiness and peace within ones family and fewer worries for the neighbor then there would be less dilemma.
There were shows in the late 1950s that gave this idea of the perfect family, such as Leave it to Beaver, that started to air on television in 1957. There was the family that ate dinner together and talked about their day. There was a hot meal on the dinner table by the time the father came home and when the children came home from school the mother was already preparing dinner and doing laundry. People who watched those kinds of shows believed that’s how all families should be. A number of movements challenged the idea of a traditional society, such as the Women’s Liberation Movement in the 1960s and the Civil Rights Movement.
As we have learned through Skolnick’s book, as well as Rubin’s research, the make up of the family is influenced by many factors. The economy, culture, education, ethnicity/race, and tradition all help to create the modern family. The last few decades have heavily influenced the family structure, and while some try to preserve the past, others embrace the future. Through it all, we find you can have both.
What's important to note is that family, or even the concept of family itself, doesn't appear in any of those ideals. Holmes and Holmes (2002) observed that “The family reunions of yesterday are now rare, and when they occur they are often a source of stress.” (p. 19) That quote solidifies one reason why family interaction today is: “It’s just too stressful, so we avoid it. Where does marriage fit into our culture of individuals?
I disagree with critics who say if you not brought up in the ideal traditional family way you are going to live in poverty, or you going to get involved in drugs or alcohol or inherent a mental illness. I am a person who has grown up in a single parent household and I’m not what critics say I am. I do not live in poverty, I do not use drugs or alcohol and my health is very much intact.
The argument over how divorce affects children is one that has been going on for a very long time. Some people believe when parents get a divorce the children are not affected at all, while others believe when parents get a divorce the children are affected by the impact of divorce more than anyone in the family. In some cases, married couples can be in such a terrible marriage that divorce can in no way be avoided, and these divorces are usually the ones that children benefit from and are affected in a positive way. Many times though, a couple will choose to get a divorce because their marriage is not exactly the way it used to be, and they want that aspect of life back; these are the divorces that negatively affect children. Even though in some cases divorce does not affect children negatively, many times when parents obtain a divorce, the children are negatively harmed in many different ways that will forever change their lives.
A family is usually seen as a support system so one would assume that a family unit would encourage equality and fairness, as well as encourage both men and women to be high achievers with great aspirations. Families are actually a big part of how society implements the separation
Society seems to have many different opinions when it comes to relationships and families and what is ideal. The ideal family may not exist anymore. We now have in our society families that are complete that do not necessarily contain the traditional material. The traditional family, as society would see it; usually consist of a married, mother and father and usually children. Moms are supposed to stay at home while dads work the forty-hour a week job. However, in our 2003 world, families exist in a lot of non-traditional ways. A lot of families now consist of single parent families, or same sex parents and their children, or even couples that are unmarried but live together. And even now, if a family contains what society sees as traditional as far as having a mom, dad, and kids, other aspects are not traditional anymore. Women now have more opportunity in the workplace than they have ever had, therefore, many moms are career moms and dads are sometimes staying at home. Years ago, these types of families were given labels for being dysfunctional or abnormal, however, this label is not holding up as well as it did years ago. There are many non-traditional families that are raising children in a loving, nurturing home with a substantial amount of quality love. Quality is the key in any relationship between anyone. Society is finding out that it is not the traditional image that makes a loving family, but the quality of a relationship that people give to each other is what really makes a family. In the essay "The Myth of the "Normal" Family", written by Lousie B. Silverstein and Carl F. Auerbach, they make references to the cultural idea of what a "normal" family should be and what i...
Divorce is a heavy concept that has many implications for those involved. The situation becomes even more consequential when children are considered. As divorce has become more commonplace in society, millions of children are affected by the separation of the nuclear family. How far-reaching are these effects? And is there a time when divorce is beneficial to the lives of the children? This paper will examine some of the major research and several different perspectives regarding the outcomes of divorce for the children involved, and whether it can actually be in the best interest of the kids.
So, in conclusion, divorce is very bad for children. It ruins their lives and happiness. Losing a parent destroys a child emotionally, mentally and even academically. They would rather live with both parents because both of them are an important part of their lives. Two parents are better than one!
The concept of family has change a lot over the past decides. Not only this, but the notions of family are very different depending on the countries, but the idea of a family (mother, father, children) has remained the same. In the 1950 's the normal American family consisted of a breadwinner father, homemaker mother, and several children, all living in homes in the suburbs on the outskirts of a larger city. It was a narrow view of a model family, yet it saturated the media and was widely accepted as the ideal and most normal. Now a days, a family can be anything, form a single mother raising her boy, to a gay couple raising adopted children. The myth of the “Model Family” does not persist to this day because gender roles have changed allot since the 1950s, the involvement of technology and devices in the house, and children are now raised by a variety of caring adults.
Even though divorce is not commonly thought of as a good thing, it sometimes can have a positive outcome such as the children and parents being happy, and allowing the children to mature. Parents being separated can be better for the kids because they won’t have to deal with the parents fighting. If the kids are put in a better and stable environment it can affect them in positive ways. Sometimes divorce is better for the child if they have been in the environm...
To thoroughly elaborate on the institution of family we most look at the family as it was before and how much it has changed over time. Throughout the years we are recognizing that the family is slowly being replaced by other agents of socialization. Families in the past consisted of a mother and a father and most times children. We are, as many societies a patriarchal society; men are usually the head of the households. This has always been considered the norm.