Familj i barnaögon : sjätteklassares åsikter om familj och familjebildning

Sammanfattning: We wanted to examine children's views on families and traditions surrounding family formation. Our main questions were; What are children's views on the concept "family" and how does this compare to the different definitions of family? How traditional or modern are children in comparison with historical and present views? and What are the effects of their own experiences, and values portrayed by media, on these views? To answer these questions we designed a questionnaire which we distributed in two 6th grade classes. Our result showed that the first thing the children in our survey think of when the word family is introduced is the typical nuclear family, consisting of mother, father and a couple of children. But when confronted with other descriptions of families, they accept most other forms. The children named the following as positive aspects of family; support, love, trust and sense of security. Negative aspects are quarreling and restrictions of the child implemented by their parents. Finally, the children are as traditional and modern as the Swedish population as a whole. Most accept couples living together and having children despite not being married, but some say they prefer that people are married before they move in together or have children.