FAMILY SITUATION IN SERBIA

-by Katarina Vićentijević








INTRODUCTION
This report aims to describe relationships betwen members of one typical family in Serbia as compared with families in developed countries. Serbia is not a member of Europian Union, wich means that living standards here are lower than in the countries of the "Third World" and that a large number of population do not have an easy life.

A TYPICAL FAMILY
A typical family in Serbia has three or four members and, as the number of unemployed is growing every day, there are many families that live on only one salary, or live helped by the social service. There are also examles of families where parents have difficulties with providing their children normal life and education, despite the fact that they are employed and have finished university.

RECENT CHANGES
On the other hand, if you look at a typical family that lived 25 years ago, you will see some differences in behaviour of children to their parents. For example, my parents had more complicated life than I do, they respected their parents more, and appreciated more the sacrifices my grandparents made for them. I do not say that I do not respect my parents, but it is truth that children today can be very ungrateful. However, back at that time there were social differences betwen people and that was something that affected poor families.

CONCLUSION
All things considered, I think that a typical Serbian family is far from being stable, as long as parents support their children after finishing university. Compared with the western families, where teenagers work in order to help their parents financially, situation in Serbia is pretty strange. My attitude is that we sholud teach our children to face life seriosly.

FAMILY SITUATION IN SERBIA

-by Predrag Milicevic

INTRODUCTION
The picture of a typical modern family gives us the opportunity to recognize the many things that have changed between family members for about 20 years. The main thing that can be visibly seen is the relationship between parents and children.

A TYPICAL FAMILY
Modern kids are left alone by themselves to build up character watching the so called "Successful individuals", appearing on TV shows, magazines and internet, and so they develop wrong attitudes about moral value and behavior in their surrounding. Instead of parents, mass-media has taken the role of the educator as well as people surrounding them. This leads to the fact that bothparents have to work 10 hours a day, and when back home are too exhausted to participate in child activities. The biggest paradox is that they are working in order to enable their children a life which they would like to have, and so making a big mistake which creates distance between children who want parental attention rather than a new cell phone.

RECENT CHANGES
By drawing a parallel between modern behavior andthat from about 20 years ago we come to a conclusionthat we also joined the world where money meanseverything, without moral value that makes normalsurroundings. Children today are forced to go outside and play with friends in order to keep them away from computers which replaced everything that kids used to grow up with. Before democracy appeared, people lived under weird and difficult circumstances, to turn into machines over whom we used to joke, for example- "Look at them, they are just working while we are relaxing at bars".

CONCLUSION

The truth is that from a specific nation we evolved into standard people who live by western standards where there is a lot time to work, but so little time for children. Once we were free, now we are slaves.

REPORT WRITING FOR YALS LITERARY COMPETITION

Dear Lingva Musketeers,

An international organization has asked you to write a report for a survey it is carrying out into key social changes around the world. They would like you to describe THE TYPICAL FAMILY SITUATION IN YOUR COUNTRY TODAY, any important changes that have occured over the last 25 years and the probable reasons for these changes. They have asked you to conclude by giving your opinion of the importance of the family unit in your society. Write a 250-word report.

Mira