developing_writing

CHAPTER FOURTEEN
FAMILY ROLES
Father is running after Junior.
Mother is taking Sis on her bike to
day care. Then she will go to
work. Dad is cooking dinner. Mom
is putting oil in the car and filling it
with gas. And what’s this? Two
policemen—kissing? They are
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas. They share
the cooking, the housework, and
a job on the police force.
Family roles are changing. In
Grandmother’s day, a woman was
a mother, a wife, a cook, a laundress,
a nurse, and a teacher.
These jobs were all part of her
role, but she stayed home all day.
Grandmother worked only for her
family. Grandfather was the
money earner in the family. Little
boys expected to grow up and to
get jobs outside the home. Little
girls looked forward to mar riage
and to motherhood.
Some families keep the tradi -
tional pattern: Father works and
Mother stays home. In other families,
there are other patterns:
Mother and Father work, or Mother
works and Father stays home.
In a few families, two people
share a job. There is more variety
in lifestyles now than there was
before.