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a. Family has grown much smaller. Anybody with ten
children would be viewed as strange and antique. Modern
birth control methods enable couples to limit the size of
their family and to space their children. Today parents do
not need "reserve children" to carry on the work of the
family, therefore, a large number of children are no longer a
source of security and pride. More and more families have
only one child. Demographers put it down to the fact that
the birth of a child worsens housing and financial
conditions. Every new child takes up more time and care
and is seen as an economic burden, affecting parents'
ability to meet their cultural and intellectual needs. As a
result, the desire to have more children recedes to the
background. Though that's a serious problem, reduced rates
of population growth are not the only cause for alarm. An
only child can get accustomed to being spoilt, which can
develop into selfishness. Besides, statistics show that in
families with one child relations are less stable than in
families with several.
b. Earlier the meaning of the word "family" included relatives
who were a regular part of one's life because they lived near
by. Today, as the first definition of the word "family"
shows, it means the nuclear family, not the extended family
of the old days.
c. The trend toward independent living for both the younger
and older generations also contributes to the diminishing of
the family. Many young adults move out of their parent’s
home, establish their own households, and attend college or
start a carrer before getting married.
2. The second area of change has occurred in the status of the
husband and the wife. In the old days, men's and women's
roles were very distinct. The man's responsibility was to earn
a living to support his family. The woman raised children,
cared for the family, nursed the sick and the aged. Now
spouses are becoming equal partners in marriage and family
life.
3. The third difference lies in the fact that the attitude to
marriage has changes immensely. In early days, the word
"marriage" meant the union of one man and one woman till

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