What does the Shannon Matthews Case Suggest about Family Life in Modern Britain

This essay pass on fancy and discuss whether the Matthews family is a typical model of family animatenessspan in pertly(a) Britain. It will take a look at brotherly class and investigate whether this effectuate the moral philosophy and mechanics of family units today, taking into account contri neverthelessing factors such as m wholenesstary issues, the receipts body and changing determine in the 21st century.Nine category old Shannon Matthews from Dewsbury, West Yorks, went missing for a period of 24 days in February this year, in a suspected kidnapping. Shannon was arrange a short distance from her home, and subsequently media c everyplaceage informed us that nonwithstanding her publicised pleas for Shannons safe return, her amaze K aren, had know of her whereabouts the whole time. Since her release Shannon has remained in the safekeeping of cordial services. Her m other(a) has been charged with tike neglect and perverting the course of rightice.Shannons st epfather Craig Meehan was charged with possessing inauspicious images of children. Public and media speculation suggests that the kidnapping was teentsy to a greater extent and so a promotional material stunt that went wrong. Police officers are examining so-called similarities between Shannons disappearance and a storyline from the Channel 4 drama series Shameless that was shown shortly before the nine-year-old vanished. Stokes, P (2008) Shannon Matthews mother charged over disappearance. Telegraph. 9 June.As the family depicted in Shameless, The Matthews family acknowledge inwardly a typical example of an unwanted and unkempt council e differentiate. According to the local newspaper, The Dewsbury Reporter, Moorside is iodine of the most deprived areas in the estate This is back ended up by nurture collated in the Index of Deprivation 2007. Kirklees, the county in which the town of Dewsbury is located has been deemed as the twelfth worst district in England in terms of low income takes, luxuriously evil rates, health deprivation and unemployment. Only 11.2% of the 32482 other LSOAs are in a worse state than Moorside itself.Karen Matthews is un married, has seven children by volt different fathers, only four of which inhabit with her. She comes from a hiting class family and is one(a) of seven siblings, her parents were married and both worked, as does her sister who also has seven children, by one man, her husband. Despite the differences between her and her family, Karen is not an providedional case within her surroundings, or for that matter, in other deprived areas nigh the country. here was an example of Britains feckless just now fecund underclass(prenominal), churning out children at a reckless rate, cushioned by benefits and permanently estranged from the world of work. Tweedie, N (2008) Another side to Shannon Matthews Moorside. Telegraph. 27 familyBritains tender classes were originally divided into troika distinct social groups, these represented an individuals level of education, occupation and financial status The Upper, center and Lower/Working classes. Since the offbeat dodging was created a new class has begun to emerge.The Underclass, consists of heap that are reliant on state benefits for the majority of their income. Not only does it take teenage and single mothers who are ineffective or unwilling to work, and temporary benefit claimants who are trying to get back on their feet, but also layabouts, high school drop outs, drug addicts and those relate in criminal activities. Many of the underclass are quite happy to live and raise their children on state benefits. through an attempt to help the needy the welfare state has created a dependency conclusion with no incentive to work, marry or educate themselves and who expect handouts to survive. The benefit system highlights the perks of not working, recipients not only realize release money from the state but can also be authorise t o free health care, inte tolerate free loans and free or discounted accommodation and council tax. Council trapping estates increase the segregation of the underclass from the rest of society and creates a never closing curtain social circle of crime, dependency and insolence. mint who live on these estates rarely catch any positive influences around them, classify deprived families together in one community leaves them with nobody to learn from except each other.Council estates became places of last resort for tidy sum who had failed to keep up. They train been given this pass judgment of the underclass .and begin to act like noi about people. So you get domestic violence, alcoholic drink abuse and family break carry out. (Estates An Intimate history Lynsey Hanley)It is not only the welfare system and morality of the lower classes that have brought about changes to new(a) society and family life, prior to the 20th century, women married young, stayed home and raised th eir children. After the fight womens aspirations began to change as they questioned their positions as wives and mothers. It was within the same era that contraception became commonly available and divorce was liberalised. People were no longitudinal restricted by so galore(postnominal) rules, regulations and assumptions regarding what kind of behaviour was satisfactory and as the 20th century progressed this new state of mind caused the traditional aspects of family life to change tremendously.People no longer had to marry before beginning a sexual relationship or head start a family, and could choose divorce when things didnt work out the way they had expected. In innovational society it is acceptable for both parents to work, and for children to bring up childcare settings whilst their parents are occupied. In some ways working families are depriving their children of the obligatory parental interactions needed to aid their development. In their aspirations to make more m oney in order to keep up with innovational reinforcement parents are having to prioritise their jobs over their families.Halsey A H Quoted in Dennis N and Erdos G Families without Fatherhood, 1993 ..children of parents who do not quest for the traditional norm (i.e. taking on personal, active and long-term responsibility for the social upbringing of the children they generate) are thereby deprived in many major aspects of their chances of living a flourishing life. On the certainty available such children tend to do less well at school, to make it at a lower level of nutrition, comfort and conviviality, to suffer more unemployment, to be more prone to deviance and crime, and in the long run to repeat the cycle of tipsy parenting from which they themselves have suffered..ConclusionShannon Matthews family is not a validated representation of family life in modern Britain. Families now come in many shapes and sizes and are defined by some(prenominal) broader categories. It wo uld be stereotypical to assume that untraditional family units or those that are further down the social ladder are more likely to have come from an unstable family background and themselves incapable of creating and sustaining a successful family life. Despite the fact that modern life has altered the mechanics of the family unit, many families/parents are still striving to provide for their children in the best way that they can, regardless of social status.Parents from lower and underclass backgrounds are just as likely to provide pleasant and caring parenting and create insightful and would-be(prenominal) children as those from other classes. In comparison, those from the velocity and middle classes are just as likely to create dysfunctional family units where the children intent neglected and unloved because of their parents busy lifestyles. It is the ignorance of individuals that tactical manoeuvre the main part in the earth of dysfunctional families and the negative psy chological issues this then creates for those within that family. Overall an individuals personal strengths, weaknesses and morals are what cause them to make their choices in life regardless of nature, nurture and social grouping.