and in the towns and cities
the home is little more than a place in which to sleep and eat for an
increasing number of workers, both men and women. The family on the
farm is no longer a perfectly representative type of the family in the
more populous centres.

These changes are due mainly to the requirements of industry, but
partly at least to the desire of all members of the family to share in
urban life. The increasing ease of communication and travel extends
the mutual acquaintance of city and country people and, as the city is
brought nearer, its pull upon the young people of the community
strengthens. There is also an increasing tendency of the women folk to
enter the various departments of industry outside of the home. It is
increasingly difficult for one person to satisfy the needs of a large
family. This tends to send the family to the city, where there are
wider opportunities, and to drive women and children into socialized
industry; at the same time, it tends to restrict the number of
children in families that have high ideals for women and children.
Family life everywhere is becoming increasingly difficult, and at the
same time every member of the family is growing more independent in
temper. The result is the breaking up of a large number of homes,
because of the departure of the children, the separation of husband
and wife, the desertion of parents, or the legal divorce of married
persons. The maintenance of the family as a social institution is
seriously threatened.

73. =Static vs. Dynamic Factors.=--There are factors entering into
family life that act as bonds to cement the individual members
together. Such are the material goods that they enjoy in common, like
the home with its comforts and the means of support upon which they
all rely. In addition to these there are psychical elements that enter
into their relations and strengthen these bonds. The inheritance of
the peculiar traits, manners, and customs that differentiate one
family from another; the reputation of the family name and pride in
its influence; an affection, understanding, and sympathy that come
from the intimacy of the home life and the appreciation of one
another's best qualities are ties that do not easily rend or loosen.

On the other hand, there are centrifugal forces that are pushing the
members of the family apart. At the bottom is selfish desire, which
frets at restriction, and which is stimulated by the current emphasis
upon