Ukrainian Family

We are born in a family, we grow up in a family and when we leave our parents, we leave a family but we make our family, because we can not live without a family. Family is our shelter from crises and pain, intransigence and agitation. Family is a shelter where there is love, respect, appreciation, understanding without words, support and serenity.

Modern families are very different from what they used to be a decade ago. Family norms, values and priorities have been globally stereotyped: age of marriage is increasing, it is fashionable not to register a marriage and live in a civil marriage, which is based on faith. Civil marriage does not reduce the pain of divorce;rather, increases,because people, in fact, spiritually bonded without any obligations, feel as a result useless.

A traditional full family consisting of four people- mother, father, son and daughter does not seem to be a priority nowadays. In the 90s more family distinguishing notions appeared: “happy family", “problematic family", “young family", “incomplete family", “multi- children family", “wealthy family or poor family”,“single parentfamily”, “ sufficiently and insufficiently provided family”and “childless family”. In Ukraine, most families are,unfortunately, incomplete. Statistics say that more than two million of Ukrainian families consist mainly of mothers (80 percent) and about 2 million children are brought up in single parent families, not to mention the extremely difficult situation with large poor families and single-parent families or families with disabled children or parents.

Global family standards are mostly imposed by American way of life. Now Ukrainian spiritual values like mutual support, respect and mutual compromising, a marriage once and for ever are supplanted by pragmatism, and striving for full material independence. Spouses are reluctant to understand each other, accept the other’s opinion, compromise and forgive or take responsibility for their actions. Too high demands and surpassing expectationsalong withordinary domestic disputes erode even the most sincere and passionate relationships.For this reason every second couple divorces within the first ten years of marriage life.

No wonder, there is a need for the revival of national cultural values. Male and female weigh up all the "pros" and "cons" before they venture on the child’sbirth. Spouses are lucid aboutthe emergence of a new family member and all the problems they will face.

Housing conditions are another important factor to be considered by young parents. Poor housing conditions lead to the decline of fertility in a society, as it is tremendously difficult to raise children without favorable modern house conveniences fearing lest your offspring should grow jealous of others living much better.

Getting youth mortgage is very difficult in Ukraine, which is complicated with low wages and economic instability in the country.

Family ties tend to be rapidly severed as there is so little time for communication in the family, spending together leisure time, absence of family traditions and tendency to be cocooned in comfort and ignorance.

Whatever the outward influences might be, the modern Ukrainian family continues to raise happy, successful children.