Vocabulary

Video

Transcript

 
The coronavirus pandemic has plunged the world into a bit of an economic crisis. Even the United States, the world’s biggest economic powerhouse is struggling.

And American families are finding it extremely hard to make ends meet.

Nuclear families; a concept pioneered in America, the belief that tiny close-knit households are desirable . . . but that was before the coronavirus pandemic.

Today the nuclear family is disintegrating; larger households are becoming the norm.

Take this family from Portamore, Maryland: three generations live here. Katie Marcoux moved in with her parents in 2007.

Her two daughters in tow, she expected to stay for a year at most . . . Thirteen years later, she’s still living here.

Katie Marcoux: “I was separated, separating from my first husband. And I was not in a good financial position at that point. And so my parents said, ‘Come here. You and the kids can live here. And we can regroup when your house sells and everything’.

We’re going to be like an Indian long home.”

Katie’s story has become an American template: nearly one in five Americans now live in a multi-generational family — a stark contrast to twentieth century America.

A similar change was seen in 2009, in the aftermath of the recession. Bunching up is a common response to financial upheavals.

Katie’s Mother: “We help Katie out by driving her to places.”

But not all big families are a success. Understanding is key.

As Katie’s mother explains, “And the three of us have always gotten along very, very well. That’s why it works.

I have a lot of friends who say, ‘I can’t believe you do that.’ Well, I would hope if your child got into the position my child was in, anybody would open their house for their children.

But it’’s worked. It’s worked all the way through.”

Millennials are returning home in large numbers. Burdened with student loans, many of them have been forced to depend on their parents. The economic crisis has made jobs difficult to come by.

It is just another example of the pandemic creating far-reaching socio-economic changes.

Questions

1. These days, it is easy to find good-paying jobs and times are good. True or false?

2. The nuclear family (a family consisting of a mother, father and several children) has been the norm throughout the world. True or false?

3. “Today the nuclear family is disintegrating.” Does this mean families are breaking up with single mothers, wayward or absent fathers and orphans?

4. Katie Marcoux is a woman in her twenties (20s) who has moved back with her parents, and the three of them live together. Is this right or wrong?

5. Did Katie move back with her parents because the rent of her previous house was too high and her wages from her job were low?

6. Multigenerational households always work out fine. Is this correct or incorrect? Why do some succeed while others fail?

7. As of 2020, are most families in the United States multigenerational?

8. Are more families are becoming multigenerational because Americans have traditionally had close family ties?
 
 
A. Describe the traditional family or household in your country.

B. Has it been changing over the years?

C. What do children and parents desire? What are their goals?

D. What might happen in the future?

E. Do people complain about the situation? What is the solution?