Family Work

Many things have changed over the past few generations.

Things families did in the past:
-Families worked together to support themselves.
-The father was generally at home working side-by-side with his family.
-The family did chores that supported the whole family rather then themselves.
-Work was expected of every family member.
-Much of the work involved hard physical labor.

Things families do now:
-The father and even the mother often leave the home for "work" to support the family.
-Children's chores are often for themselves such as cleaning their room or picking up their toys.
-Modern day conveniences allow for little hard physical labor.

By comparing these two lists it is obvious that the nature of family work has changed drastically over the past few generations. Does the change in the nature of family work affect family relationships? I would say definitely yes. How could it not? The very lifestyle of the family has changed. Studies have shown that when children are only expected to do work for themselves, they grow up more self-centered. If we want to instill the value of selflessness in our children, then we should expect family work and not self focused work. We need to be aware of how much time we are away from the house and our children and make sure that relationship stays strong even if we are not able to be there all the time. We should definitely make an effort to work side-by-side with our children to encourage them to love and learn from the work they do. Working with our children also strengthens our relationship with them. During those mundane tasks, we have the opportunity to talk with our children and spend time with them. This is truly invaluable. I believe that through family work, the family can be greatly strengthened.