Conversation Questions: Family and Alternative Lifestyles

• Can you describe a typical family in your country?
• Who is the head of the household in a typical family in your country?
• Do many wives work in your country?
  • What kinds of jobs do they have?
• If parents are both working, does this cause more or less stress in a family?
• If a wife works outside the home, should the husband help with the housework inside the home? Why or why not?
• Are there many divorces in your country?
• What impact does divorce have on a family in your country?
  • What happens to the divorced people?
  • What happens to their children?
• Are there many single-parent families in your country?
  • Are they usually headed by men or women?
• What do you think of married couples who decide not to have any children?
• Do single women in your country ever decide to have a baby and raise the child by themselves? What do you think about this kind of decision?
• Where do grandparents live in your country?
• Do grandparents help to look after their grandchildren?
• Who should take care of old people?
• Do unmarried couples live together in your country these days?
  • What do people in your society think about this kind of arrangement?
• Do people in your country ever decide to remain single and not create a family?
  • If so, what does the rest of your society think?
• Is it necessary to get married to have a good life?
• Do people who are not related by blood ever live communally in your country?
• Is polygamy allowed in your culture?
  • Is it OK to have more than one spouse?
  • Would you like this life style?
  • What countries allow this?
  • What religions allow it?
• What do you think of people who get married many times?
• Do children in your country ask for their parents' approval before they get married? Why or why not?
• Does the whole family discuss important decisions?
• When do children leave their parents' home in your country?
• When do parents' stop giving financial support to their children?
• Who in your family would you turn to if you had an emotional problem? Why?
• If you had a financial problem, would you expect your family to help?
• What is a perfect family or alternative lifestyle for you?