What Is Family Cohesion?

Growing up, I was privy to a family make up that many still do not consider. From the outside, it appeared a traditional nuclear family made up of a mother, a father, and 2.5 kids since we counted the dog as a baby. However, our daily routine differed from that of other nuclear families; my mother was the one who got up to go to work every day while my father raised my brother and I, completed household tasks, and even painted my nails on occasion. Though I grew up finding no issue with this set-up, and still believe it to be one that is completely doable, it also raises questions. Was I a minority in this upbringing? How have others who had a stay at home dad faired? Does the reason behind the father staying home relate in any way to the level of family cohesion? In this case, study, I seek to discover what the consensus is in terms …show more content…
Additionally, I hope to uncover what sort of impact this new form may have on overall family structure.
Using my own experience, as well as research into the changing face of families and fatherhood, my aim is to come to a conclusion on whether having the father stay at home with the children while the mother is at work has a positive, negative, or neutral impact on relationships in the household. Additionally, what, if any, societal ideals effect said relationships.
The first focus of this paper will be on that of spousal relationships, and how fathers staying at home shakes up the ideology of motherhood (Lecture, 2015). Shireen Kanji’s study into young parents and their relationships while the mother is the breadwinner is the first instance that backs my positive opinion of untraditional gender roles. His findings, “Are Couples with Young Children More Likely to Split up When the Mother is the Main or Equal Earner”, reveal that there is likely to