Changing Patterns of the Family Today

I grew up in a very traditional family and had the childhood most children can only dream of. I had a stay at home mother who took good care of me as I would run around and play with the variety of animals we had. There were goats, peacocks, llamas, horses, pigs, ducks, geese, and many more! I love having my 5 other siblings! As such, I would love to have a large family of my own someday, but is that normal in today's world? If not, what are the factors that set it apart?

Might I just point out a few factors that stand out to me. Feel free to comment with your thoughts please. We are in a changing world. The world is very different now then when my parents were little. We have more couples delaying marriage, more people putting off having children, and a decreasing average household size. All of these can greatly affect and shake the foundations of the family.

Have you ever heard of couples living together for years before actually tying the knot?! It is very common in our society. In 2008 more than 6.1 million unmarried couples were living together. This is a large increase since 1960 when there was only 430,000 unmarried couples living together. This can be one cause of why couple put off having kids. Many women aren't having their first child until they are into the mid or even late 30's! This will greatly affect the amount of children that a women is able to have! Thus we see that our household size is greatly affected also. The average household size of people in the US is 2.56. That is you, your spouse, and half a kid! The average household size in 1960 was 3.3. Why the decrease?

Again it is reinforced that we live in a changing world and it is up to us to make sure the changing world isn't changing our families as well. It is important to hold to family values and always put family first.