He enters the restaurant and immediately catches his attention. After observing her for a few minutes, he decides to talk to her. After talking, he decides that he wants to woo her, or as it is modernly known, date her. First she asks her father's permission to take her out, obviously with a companion. After dating for a while, the boy asks the girl's hand in marriage to her father. The father agrees because the boy has a stable job and a nice house. The father knows that his daughter will be supported. Once he agrees, the couple gets married. Then, after they got married, they had children. A few years later the boy plays ball with his son. Inside, the little girl prepares dinner while her daughter plays with dolls at the kitchen table. This is what people thought of when the word family was mentioned. This was the all-American family. Today this image has changed. Not only have dating changed, but the roles of parents and those included in the word family have also changed. Today there are no chaperones to accompany a couple on a date and the father does not have to give permission to go out together or even get married. Not to mention a higher divorce rate and increased cohabitation. As a result, the term family has taken on a different meaning than in the past. Already in the 19th century and before, socially and culturally it was preferred to follow the “traditional family unit” (Popenoe 1993, page 528). That is, “a family consisting of a heterosexual, monogamous, lifelong marriage… with the female as [a] full-time homemaker and the male as [the] primary provider and ultimate authority” (Popenoe 1993, p 528 ). This is because “these attitudes and preferences add up to a world in which one should eit...... middle of paper ......ion Studies: A Journal of Demography [Internet]. [December 9, 2010, cited November 9, 2013] 54(1):29-41. Available from: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/713779060 Cherlin A, editor. 1988. The changing American family and public policy. Washington DC: The Urban Institute Press. 261 p.Dillaway H, Paré E. 2008. Locating mothers: How cultural debates about housewife versus working mothers define women and the home. Journal of Family Issues [Internet]. [March 2008, cited November 18, 2013] 29(4):437-464. Available from: http://jfi.sagepub.com/content/29/4/437.full.pdf+htmlMead M. 2001. Male and Female. Perennial First Edition New York: Harper Collins Publishers Inc. 448 p. Popenoe D. 1993. Decline of the American family, 1960-1990: A review and evaluation. Journal of Marriage and Family [Internet]. [Cited November 10, 2013] 55(3):527-542. Available from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/353333