The Ecology of the Family

The roles of children have drastically change in today's' society. Children contributed to the family work such as helping the adults with household chores, or with the family business, however, families have evolved whereas work is not outside of the home rather than inside. As a result of this children have become assets rather than contributing to the family, they have to be feed, clothed, and sheltered. "Over the last decade, an impressive amount of evidence has documented that infants (adolescents) are biological prepared for social, cognitive, and perceptual challenges and these prepared responses play a significant role in facilitating children's adaptation to their environment" (Parke, page 377). This notion relates to family very well. As a girl growing up, even though I went to school, housework along with helping my mother out in the house was a must. In today's society, my grandchildren don't help out their mother in the house, they go to school, and that's it. They might help their parents with household chores but it's not mandatory. My children are being shelter with a roof over their heads, clothes on their backs and food in their stomach and they don't have to worry about anything else. I tell my grandchildren all the time that it was mandatory for me to help my parents on the farm and with the household duties, and they just can't believe that I took on so many duties in the home.