Assignment 2: Family Demographics

Part 1 Assignment 2

1. I found the statistic that more than half of homes will not have anyone under the age of 18 in the household. This statistic made me start to think about my friends and family and the children in their homes. Another statistic is that 1/4 of homes are occupied by a person living alone. That seems like a big part of the country that is not living with a significant others, family, or friends.

2. Most of the data on the chart is what I expected. I did not expect there to be more married families with no children now than in 1995.

3. There are many things I noticed on the chart. There are less two parent homes now and more living alone situations. The mother and father with a child stayed the same throughout the years.

3a. Married couples with no children seems to becoming more typical. Also, living alone with no children is becoming more typical. Fathers with children seem to be staying about the same.

3b. Two parent households and mothers with children seem to becoming less of the norm.

4. In 5 years I will be 27. I expect to be living independently alone or be a sharing a home with my boyfriend. In 10 years, I hope I am married with at least 2 children and a dog. In 70 years from now I hope I am a grandmother and have retired somewhere beautiful.

Part 2 Assignment 2

1. Women today are focused on getting an education and worrying about themselves. They are marrying and starting a family later in life compared to 40 years ago.

2.The norm for woman now is going to college. Women make up 54 percent of college students. Since more women are in college, they spend more time on having a full time career and less time forming a family. This can cause women to marry later in life or not at all.

3.Women have always led hardworking lives either in the work force or in the home. I think that women gaining college educations allows them to choose many different career paths than otherwise possible in the past.

4. I think after I graduate I plan on starting my career and really becoming an independent person before getting married and starting a family. I think I most relate to the character Charlotte. I want to have career goals and follow through with them but I would like to start a family as well. I think Charlotte is a good combination of hard working, caring, sensitive to other people feelings, but can still stand on her two feet. I think my favorite boyfriend on the show is Aiden. He was witty, funny, and understanding. Even after Carrie admitting to cheating on him, Aiden was able to look past it and eventually take her back. He redecorated his apartment to design it for the both of them and was ready to settle down with her.

Part 3 Assignment 2

1. In 2008, marriage ages were approximately 27 for males and 25 for females. Many people are waiting to get married because of their college education. In the past people would get married in their early 20s. Now, many people finish up their degree in their mid twenties and work towards married after. According to the article, more people with college degrees get married than people without one.

2. In the past, a person's religion played a significant role on who they chose to marry. Today, college degrees have taken the place of religion. Many people focus more on if their potential spouse has a college degree than what religion they practice.

3. The author cited, Kalmij, for the research on choosing a spouse based on education rather than religion.