Changes in Family Structure

During the past few decades there have been major changes in the structure of the family. A family used to be represented by a married couple with children, generally of the same race and living under the same roof. The traditional family was known for its stability and unmarried people were considered to live a life of loneliness. Numerous people today still believe that the nuclear family is the best for raising children and even the media and television portray the best situations with the traditional family. Studies show that people in Canada and all around the world are freer than ever before to establish the kinds of family relationships that best work for them. More and more people choose
The law (until into the 20th century) made it clear that a child had to have two parents. Now the policies have changed. Men and women who marry don’t necessarily view marriage as a lifelong commitment and it is more socially acceptable to a have a child out of wedlock. Nearly 40% of all babies born in the United States in 2009 were born to unmarried women. [v] One type of marriage that is becoming popular in today’s society is same sex marriage, also known as gay marriage. There is a lot of misunderstanding as well as many stereotypes about gay relationships. A high number of people admit to being against gay marriage. Some believe that marriage is an institution between a man and a woman or that that the purpose behind marriage is procreation. In reality, people are simply not comfortable with this idea. The growing acceptance of homosexuality is a threat to the traditional Christian beliefs about sex and marriage and some religious groups see homosexuality as a sin and condemn all forms of homosexual behaviour. Many suggest that both a father and a mother are necessary for the normal development of the child and that any time of significant change in family structure is a time of stress to the parties and the children involved. Divorce in a family has a very negative effect on the views and behaviour of the child. People faced with a change in their family structure grow more