Family life in the 21st century: the implications for parenting policy in the UK

Date10 July 2008
Pages17-29
Published date10 July 2008
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/17466660200800023
AuthorJanet Walker
Subject MatterEducation,Health & social care,Sociology
17
Journal of Children’s Services
Volume 3 Issue 4 December 2008
© Pavilion Journals (Brighton) Ltd
1 Emeritus Professor,
Institute of Health
and Society,
Newcastle
University,UK
Abstract
The ever-increasing diversity in family forms has provoked concerns in the UK about the instability
of family life in the 21st century and promoted a plethora of policy initiatives aimed at strengthening
families and supporting parents. This article explores the changes and continuities in family life and
the implications for parenting and family policy. It argues that despite the immense diversity of family
relationships, there is an enduring attachment to family ties and commitment. Understanding the inter-
relationships between risk and protective factors and how resilience may be fostered is critical, therefore,
to the development of policies that can support families at times of stress.
Key words
Divorce; family; family policy; fathers; parenting.
Children Programme, which is promoting sweeping
reorganisation and widespread changes in children’s
services in England, aims to ensure that support for
parents becomes routine, particularly at key points in
a child or young person’s life (DfES, 2004). In 2007, a
national debate was launched with parents, children,
young people, service planners, commissioners and
providers about how parents can best be supported and
engaged (DfES, 2007). The debate is based on a number
of explicit assumptions. These are that parents exert a
crucial influence on what their children experience and
achieve, that most parents will need some support at
some time or another, and that mainstream services
are not as good as they should be in providing that
support. The primary assumption underpinning the
debate, however, is that it is the role of government to
ensure that services can meet parents’ needs and that
all parents are able to access services when they need
to. This strong regard and respect for parents and family
life is tempered, however, by the expectation in the UK
that if parents do not parent responsibly, public services
will intervene promptly ‘through measures such as
parenting orders’ (DfES, 2007:7) or the state taking on
the parenting role.
Introduction
The family unit is usually regarded as the ideal human
community in which a child’s physical, developmental
and emotional needs are met, but the ever-increasing
diversity in family forms and living arrangements over
the last 50 years in the UK has provoked concerns
about the demise of the family, along with fears that
families are fundamentally unstable. This instability
has frequently been cited by politicians and the media
as the cause of anti-social behaviour and juvenile
offending, drug and alcohol misuse, behavioural
disorders in children, high levels of teenage pregnancy
and educational failures (Social Policy Justice Group,
2006). While governments tend to be wary of actually
blaming families for these ‘social ills’, they have
regarded it as legitimate to focus on parents and
parenting and to develop policies and introduce
new initiatives aimed at supporting parents, thereby
strengthening families.
This focus is legitimised by a firmly-held belief
that parents, carers and families are the most
important influence on outcomes for children and
young people. The Every Child Matters: Change for
Family life in the 21st century:
the implications for parenting
policy in the UK
Janet Walker1

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