Author: Simona Fer

Publisher:

Published: 2023

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

Over the past decades European countries have faced a wide diversity of family trends, besides the traditional families consisting of a male breadwinner, a female housekeeper and several children. And nevertheless, Europeans come out surprisingly conservative, considering that married-with-children formula is the ideal lifestyle for an overwhelming majority, despite the liberating swinging years sixties, when emancipation and individualization spread from the Great Britain towards the entire Europe. It is also obvious that family structures in the EU member states vary, reflecting cultural and normative differences. The concept of a family comprises several meanings ranging from the well-known definition of the family as a nucleus of society, consisting of two married adults and their biological children, to extended networks of adults and children who may or may not live in the same household. Historically, there have been significant differences between countries within the European Union member states in terms of typical family structures. A relationship within a family not only means close connection between people or just a blood relation, but it is also a fundamental support for cohesiveness and affection among family members practicing mutual trust and respect. We can also notice a de-standardization of the family life course in the European member states followed by a fast decrease in fertility to less than two children per woman, this happening in mostly German speaking countries, while Anglo-Saxon countries and Scandinavian ones were and remain the high-fertility regions of Europe. However, family in nowadays society is faced with a lot of challenges. There is a serious concern about the high rate of divorce, a stronger wish of independence of spouses, an increasing number of single parent families, a decreasing authority of parents over their children, a wider incidence of stepparents, but mostly the so popular practice of non-marital unions. The present study also focuses on policies and methods that the European Union institutions provide in the favor of good standards family life, education, health care and protection.