FAMILY LIFE IN BRITAIN

 Average family size: 2 parents, 2.4 children.

 Children are expensive ! This is the main reason why families are so small.
 Family planning means that couples have children later in life – about 28 years old.
 70% of marriages end in divorce. If this happens the courts decide who gets custody
of the children. If it is the mother – the father must pay “child support”.
 Nowadays it is unusual for grandparents or older relatives to live with the family,
sadly, they often live by themselves or in nursing homes.
 Most mothers return to part-time or full-time work within 4 years of the birth of their
children.
 Mothers tend not return to work until their children start school – 4 years.
 There is a growing trend of “house husbands” – men who stay at home to look after
the house and children whilst the wife goes to work.
 Often working mothers employ child-minders.
 The number of single mothers and single fathers increases every year.
 Tony Blair (former PM) claims to be the “Family Prime Minister” and intends to
restore “family values”.
 Important family times are meal times and bed times, parents usually read stories to
young children before they go to sleep.
 On Sundays it is traditional to have a large family lunch, this is usually roast beef,
pork, chicken or lamb, with roast potatoes, carrots, cabbage and gravy.
 Christmas and birthdays are the main family celebrations as well as weddings,
funerals, christenings and anniversaries.
 Families tend to take a weeks holiday around August – this is usually around Britain,
the Mediterranean or Florida.
 Children leave home, usually, at 18, often to live with a group of friends, rather than
a boyfriend or girlfriend.
 Young people usually start dating at around 15 or 16 years old.
 Usual curfews - 14 years old – 10pm
- 16 years old – 12 midnight
- 18 years old – whenever-as long as you tell them where you’re
going and when you’ll be back.
Curfews = times you have to be back home, in bed.
 The favorite food in England, for young people, is pizza or McDonalds-these are the
cheapest meals.
 Young people’s favorite activities are watching TV, listening to music, going to the
cinema, pub and nightclubs, sports.
 Older people prefer dinner parties, playing cards, reading and gardening.
 Most 16-18 years old, who are still at school, have jobs at the weekend. These are
usually in shops, pubs, restaurants, garden centers and delivering newspapers. In the
summer many go fruit-picking or apple packing.
 The average family house is in a housing estate, has 3 bedrooms, a bathroom, a
kitchen, a lounge – dining room, a moderate sized garden, a shed, and costs around
100,000 pound.
 Most families have 2 cars.
 People usually learn to drive at 17.
 Very few people ride motorbikes, as the number of cars makes them very dangerous
to ride.
 Most youngsters rely on buses.
 The life expectancy for men is 79 years old and 84 years old for women.
 The important birthdays are sweet 16, 18, 21, 30, 40, 50, 80, 100 years old.
 When you are 100, you get a telegram or letter from the Queen saying
“Congratulations!”