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Steinberg Analysis
Chapter 1 “The Accordion Family: Boomerang Kids, Anxious Parents, and the private toll of Global Competition (83-92)
The model family is only a myth, nothing more. There is no such thing as a perfect family where there is no problem, no disputes and fights. As I read through “The Accordion Family”, I actually feel as if the model family can only break family down and cause more disappointment in reality. In the accordion family, the kids come back to live, usually temporarily, with their parents because of financial problems or they are trying to pursue an interest that requires the help of their family. Well then, society might view the kid who is trying to pursue his own interest with the help of his family as a slob and that he/she is ruining his family by staying around doing nothing. But the only reason society would even be thinking that is because they are comparing it to a model set forth 5 decades ago. They are still basing that today’s “perfect” family will still be exactly the same as it was back then. I think that as the social, political, and economic situation of a culture and society change, the standard for a “perfect” family also change. I also put the word perfect in quotation mark, as I want to show that the word perfect has high amount of flexibility. There is no one defining perfection. The model family was a model that was set forth in the 1950 where economy was booming; optimism is high in the air. This is not the case for the 21st century, we have only recover from the great recession and maybe due to the circumstances that is provided, a family where everyone stick together, pit their effort and wealth together is actually the best solution right now. Also the model family is created for the American Culture, but what about the Chinese culture, the Indian Culture, and the Middle Eastern Culture. Some of these cultures have the parents and the children and the children’s spouse and the children’s children all living together. This is

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