ABSTRACT
Family life in Britain has changed dramatically in the last thirty years. Demographic, social and economic changes have affected the living arrangements and family experiences of both parents and children. The changing nature of relationships and diversity of family types, increases including in family break-up and solo living, as well as the relative importance of friends and families are often seen as indicators of family instability. Family breakup may be extremely important for changing family roles but the nature of family life has also changed in other less obvious ways. More families have two parents in paid employment than in previous generations and, while most mothers work part-time, the proportion of mothers who return to fulltime work after maternity leave is increasing (Dex 1999). There are also other important changes in domestic life and the role of families. Family activities in the last twenty-five years have become much less home-centred and more individualistic and commercial. For example, the traditional activities of sewing and cooking, child rearing and care for the elderly have lost their central unifying roles. These domestic activities have become less valued, and labour-saving devices and pre-prepared foods are used to cut down on time spent on these onerous tasks, or help is ‘bought in’ to assist with these roles. Much more time is spent now on so-called ‘leisure activities’, which involve participation in organised activities outside the home, often with peers and not as family groups (Nestlé Family Monitor 2000).
