Compared To The 2000's

Families have changed considerably over the decades. When comparing the 1950’s to the 2000’s one could argue that the 00’s was a better era for families. The 2000’s families went through remarkable changes in their status and lifestyle along with how it functions. In the 2000’s there were new kinds of families accompanied by different values and norms. Furthermore, the era brought change to gender roles, social norms, marriage and in general the style of living.
The 2000’s families are more ideal than the ones from the 1950’s because of the gender roles and social norms. Over the years gender roles have determined how a man and a woman should behave but in the 2000’s gender roles took a shift from those of the 1950’s. For example, “Both

the husband and wife would have jobs. Two incomes instead of one. Both would help take care of the kids and take turns for cooking and cleaning”(Gerlt). In the 2000’s both men and women were able to hold a job and contribute to their families. They would also distribute the household chores among them. Unlike, in the 1950’s were men were expected to be the only ones with a job while the women took care of the household. Another thing that changed in the 2000’s were the social norms. Instead of having to start a family at a young age , the 2000’s social norms had to do with mostly technology. For instance, “Deals with mostly technology. Almost everyone connects with each other through social media, text message or phone call”(Gerlt). Technology in the 2000's allowed for people to communicate with one another more easily. Due to the modification in gender roles and social norms in the 2000’s, families during that era are more exemplary.
Another reason why 2000’s families are more ideal than the ones from the 1950’s is because of the marriages. When it comes to marriage, one can marry at any age they’d like but that was not the case in the 1950’s. To illustrate, “The 1950 median age for a first marriage was 22.8 years old for men and 20.3 for women. In 2000 the median age at first marriage: Males: 26.8 Females: 25.1” ("1950's Family"). In the 2000’s marriage happened at a much later age, both men and women were not expected to get married at a young age. Both marriage and family relationships in the 2000’s were enhanced. Marriages back then were fragile, but over time family relationships have strengthened. In particular, “Mothers assumed more responsibility for the economic as well as domestic care of their children. Some fathers are rearing their children. Both can often count on parental support; grandparents step up to raise their grandchildren” ("Family Life"). Family relationships were strengthened in the sense that mothers are able to support their families, fathers are raising their kids and that parents can rely on other family members for help. Marriage in the 2000’s was preferable because people weren’t pressured to marry young and family communication were improved.
One last reason why 2000’s families are more ideal than the ones from the 1950’s is because of the lifestyle.

Women’s life in the 2000’s was improved. The 2000’s gave women the technology to better their situation. An example, “Can have machines do the housework and in today's world people are able to buy food in advance because there are multiple ways to keep it fresh” (Gerlt). Women no longer need to do housework by hand or buy food daily to keep it fresh because they have access to machines and there are new ways to keep food garden fresh. Women’s lives were not the only ones improved during the 2000’s, men’s lifestyle was also refined. As an illustration, “Both the man and woman had jobs to pay the bills, and they both would support their families and help raise them” (Gerlt). In the 2000’s both men and women could assist their families instead of only having the men take care of important work such as bills due to them being the only ones with a job. Unlike in the 1950’s, men in the 2000’s do not have that social pressure of being the head of the house. The lifestyle of both genders in the 2000’s was ameliorated, making that era more suitable for

families.
Even though the 2000’s was a better era for families some may argue that it caused a decrease in childbirth and an increase in the amount of children being raised by a single parent rather than two.

One example is the birth of children outside of marriage. For example, “Women are having fewer children, yet many children are being born outside of marriage.. and the percentage of children living with two parents has been shrinking” ("Family Life"). Although childbirth decreased, many kids were still born outside of marriages, and there is nothing fallacious about that. A child raised by a single parent still grows up just as successful as their peers because a single parent can still provide the child with all the necessities. In spite of the 2000’s creating new kinds of families some might say families were broken up. An example is the demographic trend of the era. For instance, “Showed the continuing separation of family and household because of factors such as childbearing among single parents, the dissolution of cohabiting unions, divorce, repartnering, and remarriage” (Cherlin). While the demographic trend shows the separation of families in behalf of many factors, a new variety of families emerged. As discussed before there is nothing fallacious about a child raised by a single parent, as there is nothing erroneous with a child with divorced or remarried parents because they still have both parents to take care of the essentials. To summarize, the 2000’s had a few

weaknesses but the significant change it brought makes it a very preeminent era for families.
As one observes the evolution of families through the decades, the 2000’s being the best one can be argued. However there are continuous and significant changes brought to gender roles, socials norms, marriage and overall, the lifestyle. To conclude, the 2000’s was the era for families because it fabricated new sorts of families alongside new principles and mores.