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

This essay will examine and discuss whether the Matthews family is a typical means of family life in raw Britain. It will take a look at social class and investigate whether this effects the morals and mechanics of family units today, fetching into account contributing factors such as financial issues, the benefit system and changing values in the 21st century.Nine year old Shannon Matthews from Dewsbury, western Yorks, went missing for a period of 24 days in February this year, in a suspected kidnapping. Shannon was found a short distance from her home, and later media insurance c overage informed us that despite her publicised pleas for Shannons safe return, her mother K arn, had known of her whereabouts the whole time. Since her release Shannon has remained in the c be of social services. Her mother has been charged with tyke neglect and perverting the course of justice.Shannons stepfather Craig Meehan was charged with possessing indecent images of children. Public and medi a speculation suggests that the kidnapping was little more then a publicity stunt that went wrong. Police officers are examining alleged 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 live within a typical example of an unloved and unkempt council estate. According to the local newspaper, The Dewsbury Reporter, Moorside is one of the closely deprived areas in the country This is backed up by information 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 levels, high crime 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 conjoin, has seven children by five different fathers, only four of which reside with her. She comes from a working class family and is one 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 exceptional case within her surroundings, or for that matter, in other deprived areas around the country. here was an example of Britains feckless but fecund underclass, 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 SeptemberBritains social classes were originally divided into three distinct social groups, these represented an individuals level of education, occupation and financial status The Upper, Middle and Lower/Working classes. Since the welfare system was created a new class has begun to emerge.The Underclass, consists of people that are reliant on state benefits for the majority of their income. Not only does it include teenage and single mothers who are unable 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 involved 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 dependance culture 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 receive free currency from the state but can also be entitled to free health care, interest free loans and free or discounted accommodation and council tax. Council housing estates sum up the segregation of the underclass from the rest of society and creates a never endin g social circle of crime, dependency and insolence. People who live on these estates rarely hold any positive influences around them, grouping deprived families together in one community leaves them with nobody to learn from except each other.Council estates became places of last drop off for people who had failed to keep up. They have been given this label of the underclass .and begin to act like worthless people. So you get domestic violence, alcohol abuse and family breakdown. (Estates An privileged history Lynsey Hanley)It is not only the welfare system and morals of the lower classes that have brought about changes to modern society and family life, prior to the 20th century, women married young, stayed home and raised their children. After the war 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 longer restricted by so many rules, regulations and assumptions regarding what kind of behaviour was acceptable and as the 20th century progressed this new state of mind featured the handed-down aspects of family life to change tremendously.People no longer had to marry before beginning a sexual relationship or starting a family, and could drive divorce when things didnt work out the way they had expected. In modern society it is acceptable for both parents to work, and for children to attend childcare settings whilst their parents are occupied. In some ship canal working families are depriving their children of the necessary parental interactions needed to aid their development. In their aspirations to make more money in order to keep up with modern living 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 follow the traditional norm (i.e. pickings on personal, active and long-te rm responsibility for the social upbringing of the children they generate) are thereby disadvantaged in many major aspects of their chances of living a booming life. On the evidence available such children tend to do less well at school, to exist at a lower level of nutrition, entertain and conviviality, to suffer more unemployment, to be more prone to deviance and crime, and finally to repeat the cycle of unstable parenting from which they themselves have suffered..ConclusionShannon Matthews family is not a effectual representation of family life in modern Britain. Families now come in many shapes and sizes and are defined by much broader categories. It would be stereotypical to fasten on 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 fam ily unit, many families/parents are still striving to provide for their children in the better way that they can, regardless of social status.Parents from lower and underclass backgrounds are just as likely to provide loving and caring parenting and create insightful and determined children as those from other classes. In comparison, those from the upper and middle classes are just as likely to create dysfunctional family units where the children feel neglected and unloved because of their parents particular lifestyles. It is the ignorance of individuals that play the main part in the creation of dysfunctional families and the negative psychological 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.