Before we go into the roles and responsibilities of families and family members in the household and upbringing of offspring, we must understand the 3 types of unions between people.

Types of Unions:

Marriage – a legal union between a man and a woman, or two of the same sex

Visiting relationship - the man and woman lives in their own homes (separate) but are involved sexually and children may result

Common law (consensual ) union - a man and a woman living together in mutual agreement based on love without entering into a legal or formal marriage

Roles & Responsibilities of members in the family

Grandparents - assist parents in the up bringing of the children, contribute to social emotional and economic development of the child, assist in solving marital problems, babysit in absence of parents and pass on traditions of the family.

Parents - provide the basic economic needs of the children, socialize the children to conform to the values and attitudes of society, provide emotional security (encouragement, solve problems etc), communicate and share ideas with children, pass on tradition.

Children - assist parents in the running of the home, are respectful to themselves and others, attend school until the legal age of 16 and socialise through school, recreation and involve themselves in formal and informal groups (friendships and clubs).

Family patterns in the Caribbean

Our family structure is governed to some extent by the influences of our Africans, Asians Europeans and Amerindians ancestors. Some of the patterns include:

Under the system of slavery, African men and women were not allowed to be legally married. I am sure you have heard of all the hardships endured by Africans under this cruel, inhumane system. All their rights were taken away and they were forced to abide by the injustices of the Europeans who “owned” them. Marriage was another right the Africans could not have. As a result, African men and women faced two choices: they either lived together and had children without being legally married, or men merely visited the woman on occasion over a period of time.(hence common law union)

The Amerindians believed that newly weds should not have sexual relations until after three days. Going against this was a sin. The reason for this is that they have received the body of Jesus Christ to whom respect is due.

The Europeans customs demanded that dating, courtship and marriage precedes the establishment of a family. Only when an engagement was announced were the couple allowed some freedom in their relationship. Marriage partners were chosen for love. Marriage usually leads to children. Marriage was viewed as a contract with strict definition of masculine and feminine roles. The man was the bread winner and the woman looked after the house and children. They were Christians believing in monogamous marriages and church ceremonies( baptism, wedding and funeral) associated with birth, marriage and death

Factors which contribute to the changing roles of members of the Caribbean

Status of women in society - women are holding high positions in society as they have achieved their ambitions and are playing leading roles in their chosen field. Women have managed to show their leadership qualities by reaching the top in many professions.

Choice of employment - more and more women today have paid jobs. They can be found working alongside men in both professional jobs and non- traditional jobs having equal pay for work of equal value. Hence they are involved in the sharing of financial and economic needs.

Educational opportunity - this is available to men and women equally.

Available technology - as a result of advancement in technology a number of devices have been developed to aid in the execution of duties within the home. Examples of these include: dishwasher, washing machines etc. Hence the time a woman used to spend carrying out traditional work in the home such as washing, cooking and cleaning has been reduced. Therefore women have more time to seek employment, educational opportunity and spend more time with the family.

Leisure activities - in the Caribbean men and women share equal access to leisure activities. As a result of this some women spend less time at home than they did in the past.

Results of the changing role of members in the family

Identity crisis - our sense of identity is largely gained from the roles we have within different situations, but especially within the family. Having the status of mother or father forms part of their identity, and as such they have specific roles within the family where the mother is the care giver and the father the breadwinner/ provider. If a man’s understanding of his male identity is as the provider and head of the household then his identity might be threatened when his wife is also earning an income and sharing household decision making. So too of the mother when she seeks full time employment; it clashes with her identity as a mother especially if she has to place her children in someone else’s care while she is at work.

Role conflict - this is usually applied to the situation where the ability to perform one role is hindered by the need to perform another role at the same time. For example, a father will find his caring for his family role in conflict with his role as a breadwinner if he has to move away in order to find work. Similarly, a working mother might find it difficult if her husband still regards housework and raising children as a mainly female role.

Independence – women are becoming independent in that they are working to provide for themselves and families. Greater recognition of women rights have led to more educational and job opportunities being available to them hence greater independence of woman

Development of self esteem and confidence of women - because women are now a part of the labour force and they have equal access to educational training this has built their confidence, self esteem and independence in society as they enjoy equal pay for work and have access to male dominated jobs.

Marginalisation of males - because males have for a long time generated the financial wealth in the family as they have occupied the role of breadwinner and the chief disciplinarian and main source of authority they were seen as the head of the household (patriarchal) however since women have been included in the labour force some women are earning the same income as men or even more the traditional role of males in the family has changed. As a result men are no longer seen as the dominant or superior person in the family or in society. Hence most Caribbean families are equalitarian.