Colonial vs Stylish Families: Analyzing Human Development. Paper Example

Gone are the days when the universe was under colonial families. These families had their way of life. They believe in education, traditional values, political organization of the families, and social interaction among the population. However, after the end of colonization, there exists a modern family where the lifestyle significantly changed. Therefore, this paper seeks to focus on the comparison between the colonial families and stylish families to analyze the human development progress in all the aspects of life such as economic, political, and social life.

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Colonial families

The colonial families valued a family unit. Families had the responsibility of teaching manners, morals, and discipline. The families were responsible for solving community issues. However, the responsibilities within the community were divided based on the social class of the members of the community. For instance, the poor and humble members of the society were vested with the role to monitor the family's premises and the general household unit care. In affluent homes, the father could manage the domestic business, while the nannies could do the daily duties, which were in most cases. In all colonial families, fathers could serve as the master and head of the family. As the head of the family, a father had the responsibility of acting as a breadwinner sourcing money for the family needs. Fathers were concerned about the discipline. In many homes, principally in rural, fathers could be the religious heads, thus, leading in the family in daily prayer. Fathers extended their responsibilities to their fads. For instance, most men could hunt, gather, and fish, to source food. However, fathers had little parenting role since they could only start instilling discipline in children when they were grown up not at a tender age. Fathers had the task of training male children until they could mature up. Either, they could prepare boys to monitor the families businesses. Fathers were teaching daughters to search for the right man for courtship. If the courtship succeeded, fathers could offer their consent to marry.

Similarly, mothers responsibilities also varied based on the social class of different families. In rural, mothers from humble families had a broader responsibility of providing for the young ones and doing house duties like laundry, washing the household and cooking. Mothers could lead the family in planting and tending to crops in various farms. Either, the mothers could take care of the animal on the farms. A mother living in town depends on the nannies to care for their children spent less time with their children. These mothers took most of their time pampering their husbands, organizing social ceremonies, studying and supervising overall household activities. All colonial families, mothers could engage in knitting and sewing skills. Mothers were expected to be supportive of their husbands, and they were to follow the instructions from their husbands strictly without questioning. Single mothers were not common during the colonial period since most women were being married to start their families and widows were allowed to remarry.

The sons' lives relied on the parent's income level. Sons from educated families were usually emphasized on education and sons could be taken to boarding schools. In humble families, sons were not attending schools due to lack of fees. Therefore, sons were expected to assist in doing the farm jobs and becoming the breadwinners of the family in case anything sinister befell the father. Sons had little leisure time, which they spent in bowling, trap ball; some could go out for hunting and fishing alongside their fathers.

Wealthy families' daughters were being taken to boarding schools. Most of them were decorated, relishing communal organizations, and prepared to become women of good moral. Daughters from humble families assisted in offering household errands and learned how to cook and sew from their mothers. They could also care for younger children. Most girls enjoyed playing with dolls during their leisure time. They also could play games like hoops, singing, and sewing.

The extended family had a significant role during the colonial period. For example, in more impoverished cousins and grandparents could live in one home. Comfortable homes usually cared for children from more impoverished families and took them to school. Children were typically named after their grandparents to show respect. Grandparents were the advisors, advocates, and mentors for children. They could also transmit ethnic, religious, and family traditions within the family.

Foundation of the Modern Families

The adoption of modern lifestyles was founded from these structured colonial families. The main reason why the colonial families changed is change in the current daily activities, perception within the community towards the roles of the family and over demanding environment. Change in economic trend within modern society forced the colonies families to adapt to the system of new life. However much the daily chores have altered, many current families values, like religion and discipline, have remained steady. However, in modern families, men and women almost do the same duty ranging from the household chores to taking care of the entire family. Birth control has been introduced to control the human population and condoms, pills, and injection are employed as birth control measures. The rate of a single mother is typical because it is not a must a widow is remarried and the rate of sexual immorality is very high. Either the mother or the father in modern families can manage family farms. Mostly, mothers do household chores like cooking, canning, caring for babies, and sewing. Nonetheless, modern families rely on a balanced diet, and their household chores have been eased due to the availability of electricity and indoor plumbing.

Differences

Unlike in colonial families, the rate of sexual immorality is rampant in modern families resulting in more number of single mothers within the society. Single mothers were allowed to remarry reducing their population growth while in contemporary families; they are allowed to stay according to their will hence many opting to stay alone but engaging in sexual intercourse with other women's husbands. In colonial families, duties were well delegated among the family members where sons, daughters, fathers, and mothers had unique chores. However, in modern families, members of families can do any duty. In modern families, leisure time is spent doing more advanced recreational activities like swimming, skating, sporting, and hiking. During the colonial period, people could spend leisure with their grandparents, playing with dolls among the children. In modern families, electricity and indoor plumbing have eased household chores. Moreover, during the colonial period, children could frequently seek advice from their grandparents unlike in modern families where children do not spend most of their time with their grandparents.

Similarities

In both the colonies and modern families, children from the wealthy backgrounds are taken to boarding schools. In both families, fathers are expected to be the head of the families and to take full responsibility of the household. In both families, there was a celebration of leisure time. In both families, there was a delegation of household duties, boys and girls have unique household chores, and good morals are being passed to the young children. Nonetheless, in both families, there is an existence of the extended family. Moreover, in both families, religion played a role in modeling the behavior of children. Eventually, in both families, the wealthy ones employ household nannies to do the household chores and care for the babies.