Industrial Revolution
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Along with the Industrial Revolution came astounding changes in a significant number of Canadian families. Before the arrival of the Industrial Revolution, it was typical to find a family that operated as a single entity. It was only natural to find a family operating with a working father solely responsible for providing for the family and a stay-at-home mother entirely in charge of the household and the upbringing of the children. However, this situation that was so molded into the daily lifestyles of Canadian families took a surprising turn as the Industrial Revolution commenced. The previous idea of an ideal family working as a unit shattered as the priorities of many transitioned from strong family values to a sudden urge to fulfill and exceed monetary needs. This in turn resulted in many families moving to newly emerging towns and cities in hope to snatch the newly available positions in the workforce. It was not just the men of these families who were working unreasonably long hours. Many women also found themselves out of their homes and into the working world. Even more surprising was the fact that children were now also a component of the workforce, as they were appealing to employers looking for labor. The children would accept low wages and they could complete tasks quicker than many adults. Due to their size, they could carry out many laborious activities with much more ease than grown adults. Although they were making more money than ever before, Canadian family dynamics were beginning to plummet as the interaction between the members of the family were at an all-time low. Another negative impact for the children was the fact that this newfound job was taking away time that should have been spent acquiring an education. Many parents deemed it appropriate for children not to attend school, as it was not mandatory. This would also be advantageous as the tuition fees were not affordable. From the parents perspective, the income brought back by the children outweighed the educational consequences, as the former option would benefit the overall family rather than just the individual child. In addition, parents convinced themselves that the work ethic instilled in the child was valuable enough to forsake schooling. Although this was true and children became very respectful and dutiful due to their new jobs, in no way was it appropriate for this to replace educational obligations. Again, this led to another element in the cycle. Canadian families were beginning to have more and more children in an effort to have several sources of income for the family. The birth rates in Canada began to skyrocket. Furthermore, these children werent receiving a sufficient amount of nutrients and this resulted in frequent illnesses. Additionally, because of the lack of family time, many children werent raised to the fullest resulting in a deficiency in manners and social norms. During this epoch, parents perceived their children merely as miniature versions of adults disregarding the fact that their levels of cognitive and social abilities werent as developed as they needed to be, for them to fit into the working world without any long-lasting consequences. (Voros, Lecture, Conway Pg.11-13)
This can be compared to the contrasting lifestyle that families lead today in the epoch of the Modern Times. Taking a look back into the past, it can be generalized that in the 60s, women felt like their only role was to remain at home and take care of issues that arose there. In the 70s, women began to work. However, their priorities had to remain being a wife and mother before being a workingwoman. Today, a woman has a choice to put her career before anything else if she pleases. Children in todays Modern Times witness both parents leading a balanced lifestyle consisting of their work, their families, their social responsibilities, etc. (Voros, Lecture) As in the Industrial Revolution, children also work in the present. The major difference is that working today does not act as replacement of required education, but simply an addition. The majority of children work in the Modern Times of today, not to support their family and provide another income for all of their family members to live off of, but rather to support themselves through their education, lifestyles, leisure activities, etc. A downside to the contextualization of children in the Modern Times is the fact that many believe that children of today lack much of the respect, humility, work ethic and strong family values that the children of the Industrial Revolution once possessed. Once again, to compare the families of the Industrial Revolution and Modern Times, we see that in the past, the possibility of parents being able to affect the quality of their childrens lives were pretty slight. Parents of today have much more to pass on to their children, be it property, money or other tangible assets. This significantly alters the mind of a once independent child to that of a dependent
and arguably spoiled child. (Voros, Lecture)
Single parent households have become a new way for families to function and as a result it has become the third largest family type, encountering a fifty percent growth rate since 1981. Conway states that in 2001 15.7% of Canadas families were functioning as single parent households. This means that over 2 million Canadian children live this way and that one in two children throughout some point in their life encounter this family type. Single parent families have changed drastically as in the 60s this family type existed as a result of a death by either spouse. Roughly about ten years ago, 54% of single parent families were due to divorce and about 61% of mothers were granted sole custody of the child/children. This further encountered more problems as 52% of female single mothers lived below the official poverty level. (Conway, Pg.26-28) This creates various problems for the child as he/she experiences poverty, poor housing, constant stress and insecurity followed by the parent not being around for help with ethics, morals and education. Mothers feel left out as they experience emotional stress and not being sexually fulfilled. While battling work and economic difficulty it becomes difficult for her to maintain a strong bond with her child and participate in the necessary upbringing functions like helping with homework, attending school functions and creating the footsteps for her child to a successful upbringing. This was clearly reflected in the film “Kids Talk,” as a message they had to adults was “late work nights are no fair.” Children do feel neglected and need to be shown love especially when the child is not independent and needs his/her parents support with almost everything they do. Being a single parent family is in turn a