Jak w ciągu stuleci zmienił się model rodziny? - How has the model of family changed over the centuries?

One commonly talk about the crisis of family and family values pointing to an increasing number of single parents who bring up their children on their own. On the other hand 90% of people say that a successful family life is the most important factor of human existence. What caused the change during the last half-century? What will the institution of marriage be like in the future?

Nowadays a model family is made up of four persons: parents and two children - the best being a boy and a daughter. But it changed through centuries. To begin with I would like to mention the Holy family. It was composed of three persons: the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ - the Saviour and Saint Joseph. Even today mothers want to be similar to Mary and give all their love to their husbands and children. The mother is the most important person in our life - it is herself who is close to us when we take our first steps. The father is considered as the one who protects us. More examples of what families looked likecan be found in literature. In our national epic entitled Pan Tadeusz, Adam Mickiewicz presents a family that preserves their traditions, they spend their spare time together. Work,too, brings them closer to one another. The message of this book is that love is very important. Children make our lives happier. In the past many Polish families were composed of five or six persons. A rather extraordinary model of family is presented in the book by Witold Gombrowicz called Ferdydurke. The Mlodziaks let their 15-year-old daughter have an illegitimate child. This family is influenced by fashion of their times - modern technology. There are different types of families, from the simplest, one-parent family, to large ones made up of children, parents and grandparents.. Unfortunately, the family of today decomposes because of divorces. When parents divorce children live with one of them, they have to get used to the new stressful situation. There are also couples that do not have children. They want to make a career and earn a lot of money. They forget that family is the most important value in human life.

[Arkadiusz Szymczak]