Changing Relationships Within Families » Industrial Family Relationships

Introduction to Industrial Family Relationships

The Industrial Revolution (approximately 1760-1840) dramatically transformed not just how people worked, but also how families were organised and how family members related to each other. This shift from agricultural to industrial society created new family structures and relationships that continue to influence modern family life.

Key Definitions:

• Industrialisation: The process of social and economic change that transforms a society from an agricultural to an industrial one.
• Nuclear family: A family unit consisting of parents and their dependent children.
• Extended family: A family structure that extends beyond the nuclear family to include grandparents, aunts, uncles and other relatives.
• Symmetrical family: A family where roles and responsibilities are more equally shared between partners.

The Rise of the Nuclear Family

One of the most significant changes brought by industrialisation was the shift from extended family households to nuclear family units. This transformation wasn't immediate but developed over generations as industrial society matured.

Why Did Nuclear Families Become Dominant?

Several factors contributed to this shift:

📍 Geographical Mobility

Families needed to move to where work was available in factories and urban centres, making it difficult to maintain extended family connections.

🏢 Urban Housing

Small terraced houses and tenements in industrial cities were designed for nuclear families, not extended family groups.

💰 Economic Independence

Wage labour allowed young couples to establish their own households without relying on family land or businesses.

Changing Gender Roles in Industrial Families

Industrialisation created a sharp division between "work" (paid labour outside the home) and "home" (unpaid domestic labour), leading to more rigid gender roles than in pre-industrial society.

This division was most pronounced in middle-class families. Working-class women often had to combine paid work with domestic responsibilities, though their work was typically lower-paid and considered less important than men's.

The Changing Status of Children

Industrialisation fundamentally changed how society viewed children and childhood. As families moved from rural agricultural settings to urban industrial environments, children's roles within the family shifted dramatically.

From "Little Adults" to Protected Dependents

In pre-industrial society, children were often viewed as small adults who contributed to family work from an early age. Industrial society gradually developed a new concept of childhood as a distinct and protected life stage:

• Education replaced labour: Compulsory schooling laws (like the 1880 Education Act in Britain) removed children from the workforce and placed them in schools.
• Emotional value: Children became valued for emotional rather than economic reasons.
• Extended dependency: The period of childhood and adolescence lengthened as more education was required.
• Child protection: Laws were introduced to protect children from exploitation and abuse.

Work Patterns and Family Life

Industrial work patterns created a new relationship between time, work and family life that continues to influence modern families.

Sociological Perspectives on Industrial Family Relationships

Sociologists have different views on how industrialisation affected family relationships:

Functionalist View

Functionalists like Talcott Parsons argued that the nuclear family emerged because it was well-suited to industrial society's needs:

• Small, mobile units that could relocate for work
• Clear division of labour between spouses (instrumental and expressive roles)
• Effective socialisation of children for industrial society
• Emotional support system for workers facing industrial stress

Marxist View

Marxist sociologists see industrial family changes as serving capitalism's interests:

• Nuclear families consume more goods (each needs own household items)
• Women's unpaid domestic labour supports male workers at no cost to employers
• Family teaches obedience to authority needed in factories
• Family absorbs costs of raising and caring for workers

Feminist View

Feminist sociologists highlight how industrialisation reinforced gender inequality:

• Created rigid "separate spheres" for men and women
• Devalued women's domestic work as "non-work"
• Increased women's economic dependence on men
• Established double standards of behaviour for men and women

Legacy of Industrial Family Relationships

Many aspects of modern family life can be traced back to patterns established during industrialisation:

• The expectation that families should be economically self-sufficient units
• The idea of childhood as a protected period of dependency and education
• The tension between work demands and family time
• The gradual move toward more equal gender roles (as a reaction against industrial division)
• The concept of "quality time" with family as something separate from work

Understanding industrial family relationships helps us see how economic systems shape intimate relationships and how many "traditional" family patterns are actually relatively recent historical developments.