Tension In Family

Juan stated that Spanish is the other language spoken at home. However, having a second language can cause some tension in the family, because the first generations who move to the United States do not speak English well, and the third generation, struggles with the Spanish language. They try to use the second language at home and at church, however, the second language causes tension in the family because the first generation has not learned English, and the third generation does not want to learn the Spanish language. The third generation has a hard time trying to communicate with family members back in Guatemala. They try to resolve their differences by understanding that one generation was raced in a Spanish speaking country, and the other …show more content…
Zuniga (1994) declares that Latino families have been identified as “having male supremacy, maternal submissiveness, and strict gender role delineations” (pg. 208). Juan explained that the first generation who immigrated to America still practice the machismo they brought from their country of origin because his father still expect his mother to do the house chores and he is in charge of working in construction to provide for the family. However, in the case of the second and third generation, they believe that women can also contribute to the family’s income and that men should do some chores around the house and they should also take care of the children. Contreras et al. (2002) state that the second and third generations are more open for women to work so they can bring income to the home. They also declare that in a survey conducted in Chicano families, it was found that gender roles in Latino families are becoming less rigid and that women are being more accepted to work in the fields or to make more money than their husbands. This survey also discovered that women believe that men should help more in doing the housework (pg. 15-16). However, the pressure from the first generation to follow their role, influence the second generation to implement some of the machismo family practices, but they do …show more content…
I learned that every family has their own world, their own life experiences and their own biases. The process of doing this interview was unique; however, it was draining for me and for the family that I interviewed. It was a long process, but I think that this interview allowed this family to reflect about the things that they have not reflected for a long time. For example, they reflected about their family values, the roles their generation valued compare to those of their ancestors, they were able to reflect on their accomplishments and their failures. Juan and Marta were able to analyze some crucial components about their marriage and the beliefs that they have not thought about before. They were also able to think about the future of their children and to analyze the things that they are working on to see their children succeed in life. This interview was an eye opening for me and for the family I interviewed. We were able to build a closer relationship because we were able to discussed topics that we have never discussed before. I believe that doing this interview allowed me to understand that families can come in many shapes and sizes, I learned that people need to respect and value families for who they are because every family has a story to tell and it is up to the professionals to be open to listen to the stories of the individuals who they work