Traditional Family Structure Essay

The traditional family structure of two parents and their children living in a home was a short lived experience for me during my childhood. The majority of my childhood I lived in a single parent household with my biological mother and older half-brother. Although my mother and father were married for 16 years there were a few times, off and on, during my early childhood that my biological father also lived in the home with us for short periods of time. I have recollection of my mother having three different long term relationships with other men during my childhood she then remarried a man when I was in my early twenties. I was never fond of the men that my mother was involved in relationships with including her current husband. Although …show more content…
I recall two African American families living in the town throughout my entire childhood. These two families appeared to be accepted by others according to what I remember. Although I was not taught equality during my childhood, I do not have any recollection of ever hearing anything negative around the town regarding the race of individuals during my childhood. This was a community that everyone knew everyone and if someone didn’t know another person they would within a minimal amount of time. This allowed for small groups of friends to interact and connect outside of the school environment. On the opposite side of things if one parent did not get along the children were typically not allowed to play with one another outside of school. The town was considered to be safe and had an extremely low crime rate. We could ride our bikes around town, play at the town park, and go to friends’ homes without parents being concerned about the safety of the children. At the same time, the town did not have a lot to offer in terms of activities or events. I remember spending the Fourth of July at the carnival that came to town for three days each year and hunting Easter eggs at the park each year for Easter. Beyond those two events the town did not offer many festive events or activities. The town offered a post office, grocery store, bank, three gas stations, a few locally owned restaurants and several churches but not much beyond