Changing Roles in the Family

Change is constant. None is spared from this universal law. Even the structure
and functions of the family is susceptible to change. As the time and generation
changes, the family moves parallel to it. Like an object moving due to what we call
in physics as unbalanced forces, the family changes due to some forces acting into
it.
The family, as the basic unit in the society, has a vital role in performing
biological and social reproduction for the existence of the society. Hence, without
the family, society will never exist. Each of its members has an important function
in maintaining the family. A family consists of a husband and wife or a father and
mother with its children. In our country, there is what we call as the extended family
wherein there are additional members of the family which may include the
grandmother, grandfather, nieces and nephews, and others. Traditionally, the
mother stays in the house, takes care of her children and her husband, and serves
as the ilaw ng tahanan. The father, on the other hand, is the one who earns
money to sustain the needs of the family. In the modern days, the roles of each
member changed drastically due to several factors. Now, a woman finds a job,
works so hard to earn money for her family. This is due to the inflationary pressure
and rising expectations of living standards have combined bringing women to work.
Second, it is less expensive to work than to stay at home, given the fact that real
wages have increased dramatically. Third, College education has increased the
number of jobs available to women. The father, on the other hand, takes care of
their children and stays at home which is because he has no job and the mother is
the one who earns money for them. There is also what we call as the dual career
family wherein the parents are both professionals in high-status, high-paying
positions. It is very different form the traditional parents. It provides an increased
measure of autonomy for each of the individuals. The identity of the woman is no
longer seen as minor. However, they have the dilemma on whether to have children
and how to care for them. The so-called career women may postpone childbearing
until they reach the higher ranks. In some situations, there is a type of family
wherein the father becomes a mother as well or a mother becomes the fatherSingle parent. This causes an enormous emotional and physical stress to the parent
on taking care of his or her child or children and at the same time on how he or she
will earn money to sustain their needs. Also, the child may have an emotional
distress since he or she may compare their situation to other children which have a
father and a mother. There are families wherein the child is the one who earns for
his or her family without age exemptions. They are the breadwinner of the family.
Even at an early age, they enter the workforce to earn for a living.
Certainly, changes have occurred in the roles of each members of the family
yet the family continuously performing its functions with modifications. It is still one
of the most important social institutions. Scientifically speaking, evolution takes
place in order to adapt in its changing environment, without evolution, there is no
survival which turns into extinction.