Would you live common-law?

Article: Would you live common-law? (PDF)

Objectives

• To understand that individuals have different views about common-law unions.
• To examine why living common-law has increased over time, and if there are any possible consequences for the future of the family.

Classroom instructions

1. Have your students discuss why some people choose marriage and others common-law unions. How does social acceptance of common-law unions today compare to 30 years ago? What are the ways in which social disapproval might be expressed?
2. Have your students examine how a common-law relationship might differ from marriage. Consider such activities as leisure, labour force participation, the division of household labour, attendance at religious services, presence of children, and attitudes of family and community.
3. Literature suggests that individuals who live common-law before marriage have higher divorce rates than couples who do not live common-law. Discuss reasons for this pattern.
4. Throughout the article, men are more willing to live common-law than women. Have your students explore reasons why this might be the case.
5. Engage the class in a discussion of what an increase in common-law living means for Canadian society.

Using other resources

• Profile of Canadian families and households: Diversification continues
• Changing conjugal life in Canada
• Le Bourdais, Céline, Ghyslaine Neil, and Pierre Turcotte. Spring 2000. "The Changing Face of Conjugal Relationships." Canadian Social Trends. p. 14-17.
• Check out our Statistics Canada Website to find other lessons for home economics and family studies. There are more than 30 lesson plans for secondary home economics and family studies.
• See the Family studies kit for detailed graphs that you can use to make overheads for your class.

Please e-mail comments or examples of how you used this exercise in your class.