Family Size
By the end of the
1980’s families
were much smaller
than before. It
was normal
to see large families with four to eight kids but now, 53% of the
families had
one child under eighteen, and 36% had two children. The reduced family
size limits the child's experience
of peer interation because they do not interact daily with siblings.
There are a variety of forms of family that exist today. There are
nuclear families, single parents, families with extended family living
with them as well but not as common as the single parents with
children, specifically mothers. Family
Position in Society and it's Effects on Children
<>The
child’s
experience is also limited by the family’s “living standards, access to
social
networks, and working conditions” adding that the mothers chose to
combine work
with family. Living standards
are indicators of the areas where the family lives, as in safe or not
safe neighborhoods, urban areas, suburban areas, and the schools they
attend. Different social networks the children experience are providers
of the environment they grow up in. The working conditions of families
contributes to the free time parents have to take their children to
their different activities such as kindergarten, dance, sports,
playgrounds, and parks. The hopping from one activity to another in
order to fill up the children's free time is called
“islandation”. Islandation occurs now more
frequently than before because leaving children playing in open areas,
such as streets, is not deemed safe anymore. Therefore, parents occupy
their children's time with activities in more closed areas.Dominant
Figurehead
Husbands
in general are the economic providers while the mothers are in charge
of the
house and the children. 
But within German households today, the father of the family is not viewed as a dominant figure. The father is “an active participant in the family,” and because of his large involvement in the household, there are no obvious lines within the individual domains of the husband and wife. His involvement is so deep within the household, that he may control details such as the home furnishings, disciplining of children, and even the wine for dinner. General decisions of the house usually go towards the opinion of the father, not because he imposes his opinion, but because he “subtly brings the others to his side”.
<>
<>Family
Unit
<>
When
the father is out of work he is at home with his family making an
apparent
emphasis on being together as a family. Lunchtime for the husband is
spent at
home, and after work he promptly returns. A German wife quoted,
“Husband feels
guilty about going bowling every two weeks with his friends. I tell him
to go
on, that I like to have time to myself”.
German
mothers do not have heavy strings attached to the children. It is
common for
the husband and wife to leave the children at home, leaving the key
with a
neighbor while they go out to dinner. As for traveling and leisure
activities,
these are done together as a family as well. Any activity is always an
opportunity to be together as one nuclear family. It is important for
them to
be together both physically and socially therefore, they admit
non-family
members to join them “at scheduled and prepared times in relation to
the entire
family unit”. The families entertain at home and the
outsiders are expected at the pre-arranged times in order to show a
less
intimate image of their home, compared to the daily tightness
References
Colberg-Schrader,
Hedi, and Pamela Oberhuemer. 1991. “Early Childhood Education and Care
in Germany." Salamon, Sonya. 1977 "Family Bounds
and Friendship Bonds: Japan and
West Germany." Journal of Marriage
and Family 39: 807-820
Photos courtesy of the Associated Press via the Tulane Library
http://accuweather.ap.org/cgi-bin/aplaunch.pl
Photos courtesy of the Associated Press via the Tulane Library
http://accuweather.ap.org/cgi-bin/aplaunch.pl
The purpose of this website is to inform viewers about the status of children in Germany. This site was created by Julie Bernzweig, Christina Carpenter, Sarah Mayhall, and Lorena Quintana as part of a collaborative web project for the first year writing seminar Children & Society at Tulane University taught by Professor April Brayfield.
Updated December 8th, 2004