AboutKevin Johnson Expertise I lived in Germany my whole life. Since I have strong ties to the United States and an active interest in American life, I know the fine differences between the two nations.
Expert: Kevin Johnson Date: 5/27/2008 Subject: germany family dynamics
Question for a project on germany i would like to know about germany family dynamics such as:
does one parent work or do both parents work?
does one parent stay home and raise the children? If so which parent works and which parent stays home?
Division of labour- who is responsible for the cooking, cleaning, etc.?
what sort of activities does the family do together?
descrbie typical relationships between parent/children; husband/wife.
thanks!
Answer Hello again Katie,
Up until the early eighties the single-breadwinner family was the norm, but as women have become more emancipated and ambitious, now is is very common to see double-income families, where the woman works at least part-time. Women will try to take at least a few years off for child-care, though. It is still very uncommon for the husband to stay home and raise the children. Fair labour division is common in double income households. Of course in single-breadwinner families the partner that stays home does most houshold chores.
Leisure activities are increasingly individualized, especially for children who usually enjoy many recreational activities like sports, music, clubs. Family schedules tend to be made up mainly by events that arise from these children's activities (sports games, rehearsals and recitals, etc.). When families do leisure activities together they go on typical outings like zoos, amusement parks, bowling, mini-golf, you name it. Visiting exteded family or friends is also very popular.
The relationships between parent/children are usually somewhere in the middle of the spectrum authoritarian-democratic (the wishes of the children are respected and accomodated, but the parent has the final word) and husband/wife relationships are usually equal partner arrangements.
