Summary Theme 4: Family Roles

Past.

In the past it was the father who used to work. There were a lot of children in each household.

Most of the time more than 6. The mother used to take care of them and take care of the household. So she hardly ever worked. Children were often told to help in the household, or maybe even take care of their little brothers and sisters. And we children had a job, they had to give a certain amount of money to their parents and could only can a part of it themselves.

Kids we’re very polite back then or at least they were told to be. They had to do exactly as their parents told them or they would be punished in some way. Stay in their rooms, go to bed without having eaten anything, or sometimes even being hit.

Nowadays.

The traditional family has 1 or 2 children, preferably at least one boy and one girl.

The mother does not only take care of the children but has a part-time job as well.

So most mothers and fathers work. One girl is raised by her grandmother and there’s no difference with a normal childhood. In other families the mother is the one who earns the money and the father takes care of the household. The children help very little, sometimes they set the table. But when it comes down to cleaning some of them even get a little money.

In other cases there is a cleaning lady to help when for example both parents work.

Kids these days are not all as polite as in the past; the know what they want and how they feel about certain topics. So they will let you know. They are not being punished really anymore. Maybe they have to stay indoors, or something, but that’s it.

Future.

In the future (the ones that are now) kids just want a ‘normal family’, with 1 or 2 children. But certainly not a family in which the dad earns the money and the mom stays at home. So both parents will work and raise their children. The household will do itself because of all the equipment there will be that’s so modern you hardly have to do anything yourself. Children will not have to do a lot, but only be occupied with school, friends, social media and hobbies.