Pocket money

Parents, not the children should decide how much money they will be given. Children´s complaints that their friends get more money could be exaggerations. If this is the case, you should explain that every family has different ways of doing things – that´s life.

You should make difference between the amounts you give to different-aged children in the family.
You should keep pocket money separate from extra money earned by doing chores. This may help to avoid arguments about whether pocket money is deserved or not and gives kids the opportunity to earn a little extra cash.
Don´t use pocket money to punish, bribe or reward. Spell out any guidelines you have on how your children should spend their money. The youngest will probably spend it on buying comics or sweets, but can older kids buy what they want? Let them know.

Family structures:

• extended families – this type of family structure consists of three or more generations living in the same household or very close proximity
• the nuclear family consists of two generations of family members living in the same household , family contacts amongst kin are usually weaker and less frequent than amongst members of extended families , contact with wider kin is more likely to involve “impersonal contacts“ such as the telephone
• single-parent families involve a single person plus dependent children, this type is sometimes reffered-to as a “broken nuclear“ family , the presence of this family structure can be attributed to three main factors: divorce, pregnancy outside marriage, death of a marriage partner
• reconstituted families (step-families) – this type of family is usually nuclear in form and involves parents, children of either spouse from a first marriage and possibly children from their present marriage

Types of marriages:

• monogamy type – you can only be legally married to one partner of the opposite sex at any one time
• strict monogamy – you are married to your partner until their death – divorce is prohibited (Southern Ireland)
• polygamy type – a man can be married to more than one woman or in rather more extreme cases, a woman can be legally married to more than one man
• arranged marriage – parents have a great say in the individual´s choice of marriage partner , in our past, arranged marriages amongst the upper classes tended to be the norm, mainly because the wealthy parents wanted to ensure that their family wealth was not diluted by the son or daughter´s inappropriate marriage (India)

Description of a family member

I have got the closest relationship with my mum. We often talk together, we are open to each other. I can speak with her about everything I want. I can rely on her in every situation. I have always followed her advice and she has never disappointed me in anything. She´s not very tall, but slim. Her dark auburn hair falls past her shoulders and she´s got really pretty brown eyes. When we talk and smile together nobody knows what´s going on. And both of us like dancing. We often dance to the music from MTV together. Sometimes we quarel but we still like each other very much.

Stable family in SR

The extended families, where grandparents, parents and children lived under one roof, are gone. Grandparents and independent children live separately now. The reason for this change is the rapid development of industry and trade made people move and try to find prosperous jobs in fast-growing towns.

However, family relationships haven´t been weakened by this change. With the development of communication technologies, it´s quite easy to keep in touch with our family, even if you live a thousand miles away from them. E-mails, chatting over the Internet, videophones – all these methods can be used to find out what´s new in your family.
When a young people decides to get married, they start looking for a place to set up their own home. They can get a mortgage from the bank to buy a flat or a house, rent a flat or a house in a housing estate. Young people prefer living on their own to living with their parents.

Most Slovak women nowadays work. They have very good job prospects. They work as engineers, surgeons, educators, politicians and entrepreneurs. They have equal social status, pay and opportunities.
The birth rate in Slovakia is falling, so some people say that young people are more selfish and egocentric today. Others claim that it shows that young people are being responsible by not having more children that they can afford. They say it shows their concern for the quality of life they can give a child and that young couples are just careful in planning the size of their families according to their resources – both material and financial.
The roles of husband and wife has changed as well. Young men now take more active role in the raising of their children. If children see such dual participation, it helps them later in life. They are more mature, independent and able to cope with life than their classmates who always had only mother at home to rely on. It helps children when both parents share duties at home.

Cohabitation without being married

• partners don´t considerate the paper about being married as important
• partners want to have freedom
• partners don´t want to belong someone, they can be scared of marriage
• one of the partners might got divorce and don´t want to try a marriage again

Divorces

• spows notice they have different qualities in life
• cheating
• when one of them has an affair – the lost of trust
• different social status
• earning money
• alcohol, drugs, violence