MODERN

AND
TRADITIONAL
FAMILIES
Cristiana Galateanu
Iulia Teodora Gheonea
11D
 Definition
◦ Family is a very old social group. It has been in existence since long
times. It is older than society and as old as human life itself. But
despite all this, it is not a static institution. It is always changing with
the march of time. It is for this reason that the structure of the
modern family is not the same as it was about a century ago.
◦ Nimkoff and Ogburn write, “The family has changed a good deal in
the past and has assumed many different forms and functions. The
family has proved to be a very resilient and flexible institution.
Despite radical changes in form and functions, the family has
continued to exist in every society known to us. It should be clear
from these facts that family is undergoing constant changes. As a
result of this the modern family has become much different from the
ancient family”.
In short, some of the main points of difference
between them can be shown in the following way:
1. Replacement of Joint Family by Single Family:
◦ To begin with a fundamental difference between the modern family and the ancient family
pertains to its size.
◦ In the ancient societies joint family system was the order of the day.
◦ There used to be families of very big size consisting of the members of many generations.
◦ Not only parents and their children but also the families of their brothers, grandparents and
the widow daughters of the same family used to live in one house.
◦ Now joint families have broken up and their place has been taken over by single families.
The modern families are quite small in size consisting of parents and their small children.
◦ Even the grown up children after their marriage separate themselves from their parents and
establish their own families.
2. Modern Family no Longer a Social Unit:
◦ The traditional family was regarded as a social unit, whereas the modern families have become
individualistic in outlook.
◦ In the ancient times all the members of a family lived at one and the same place and they were
bound together by a thread of the commonness of residential and social conditions.
◦ All the physical and social needs were fulfilled in the family and there was no necessity of any
outside agency to interfere in the human life.
◦ Emphasizing this fact Gisbert writes, “The family has somewhat relaxed as a closely knit social
unit and has opened the door to individualistic tendencies and outlook. The husband now has to
leave his home for a living and work at a specified time and place and under conditions
prescribed by others.”
 3. Change in the Position of Women:

◦ An important point of difference between the traditional and modern families relates to the position
of women.
◦ Formerly, the women occupied a very low position in the family.
◦ They were just slaves to men possessing none of their own individuality. They had no rights nor any
freedom.
◦ They had to carry out the dictates of the male members of the family. But now her position has
changed altogether.
◦ In modern family the woman if not the devotee of man but an equal partner in life with equal rights.
◦ The husband now does not dictate but only requests the wife to do tasks for him. She is now
emancipated of man’s slavery. She can divorce her husband as the husband can divorce her.
◦ She can sue the husband for her rights and likewise be sued in turn.
 4. Economic Independence of Women:
◦ A very important feature of modern family is the economic
independence of women, while such a thing was not found in the
traditional family.
◦ Previously, women were dependent on men for the fulfilment of all their
needs and wants. They had no independent economic resources of their
own to support them.
◦ They were confined within the four walls of the home and all their basic
needs of food, clothing and shelter had to be met in the family by men.
◦ Women could own neither property nor could they hold any occupation.
Marriage was a compulsory bond for them, which they had to undertake
for the fulfilment of economic, needs. But now the position has changed
altogether.
Women in modern family have attained an increasing degree of
economic dependence. It is not only the husband who leaves the home
for work but it is also the wife who goes out of doors, for work.
◦ The percentage of women employed outside the home is continually on
the increase.
5. Decline of Religious Control:
◦ While the traditional family was religious in outlook, the modern family is secular in
attitude.
◦ The religious rites of the traditional family such as early prayer, yagya etc. are no
longer performed in modern family.
◦ Marriage also has become a civil contract rather than a religious sacrament. It can be
broken at an hour.
◦ The authority of religion over the conditions of marriage and divorce has markedly
declined.
◦ Divorce is a frequent occurrence in modern family. In traditional family it was a rare
phenomenon.
6. Decreased Control of the Marriage Contract:
◦ Marriage is the basis of family. In a traditional family the parents contracted the
marriage. The marriage ceremony was based on the principle of male dominance and
female obedience.
◦ In a modern family people is less subject to the parental control in the matter of mate
choice. The partners themselves do not settle the marriage and it can be undone at
their own will.
7. Abandonment of Non-Essential Functions:
◦ The sphere of activities of traditional family had been much larger than that of modern family.
◦ The modern family has given up a great many functions, which were performed by the
traditional family.
◦ Not only this much but many of the traditional tasks of the household such as cooking
and baking, cleaning and washing are also performed outside the household by
specialized agencies.
◦ In this way while the traditional family performed both essential and non-essential
functions, the modern family is concerned with the doing of essential functions.
8. Modern Family no longer an Economic Unit:

◦ The traditional family was an economic unit, which the modern family has, ceases to be now. The
traditional family was all at once a production and consumption unit.
◦ It was self-sufficient in economic needs. All the active members of the family were employed in
the family occupation. All the articles of consumption could be prepared at home.
◦ It is clear from the foregoing facts that the family has been subjected to profound modification of
an economic, social and biological nature.
◦ The modern family is no longer the economic and self-sufficient unit. But despite all this it may
be said, that the family still remains a strategic social institution.
◦ The loss of its functions and the change in its structure has not destroyed its basic position.
◦ Thus it may be said in the end that the modern family has considerably changed from the
traditional family, but this process of change has been all at once the result of changing needs
and current circumstances.
Statistics

◦ In 2018, there were 19.1 million families in the