Sarah Winther
Since the original studies of the Kibbutz, quite a few changes have taking place in this communal style of living. These changes came about because of both social changes in the country of Israel, and general dissatisfaction expressed by people who had been raised as members of the original Kibbutz. As the children of the original Kibbutz became adults themselves, they realized that their upbringing had been successful, though somewhat unsatisfactory in regards to their personal relationships with their parents. They expressed that they were unhappy with the lack of positive early memories of their families, and the resulting critical feelings they developed towards them.
One major problem the Kibbutz-raised were having was the lack of a strong personal relationship with their mothers. This had developed because of the relative small amount private time they had spent together, due to the way the original system had been designed in regards to childcare. The original children had spent little time with their parents, and more time with their peers and caregivers. According to these children themselves later in life, this experience had left them with very few strong personal relationships with others, including their peers. Overall, the Kibbutz-raised children reported having few real attachments to anyone, and a general sense of discontent in relationships.
As the children from the original studies of the Kibbutz grew up themselves, they began to approach the subject of child rearing differently than those before them had. Being a product of the system themselves, they knew what parts of the child rearing system had been a success, and what parts needed to be altered and they were dedicated to making the necessary changes. Women who had been raised in the Kibbutz they, had an active role in altering the child rearing system. These women wanted to develop strong attachments to their children, and did not want the attachment between them and their own children to be weak like their attachments to their own mothers. To achieve this goal there has been a movement to a more family-oriented way of life, which has never been seen on the Kibbutz before.
The new generation of Kibbutz children is being raised very different from the way their own parents were raised. This new generation has parents who have close, personal relationships where they are encouraged to spend time together as a unit, unlike earlier generations where separateness was the norm. These children also spend less time with caregivers and peers than their own parents did, in attempt to build stronger parent-child relationships. This includes having their parents pick them up from childcare in the afternoon to bring them to the family apartment, where the children remain all night. In the family apartment, which is a new concept itself, these families spend time together where they watch television, have conversation, and eat dinner as a family. In addition to this new-shared time, children are also participating in a new family sleeping arrangement where they sleep in the same bed with their parents from infancy until adolescence.
As parental involvement has grown in the Kibbutz, so has the role of family in a child's life. There has not only been the introduction of a more intimate relationship to the mother and father, but there has also been the introduction of close sibling ties as well. The child is no longer left to form sibling-like relationships with peers, but is given the opportunity to form close relationships with their actual siblings while they are together in the family home. Another new relationship, which has been introduced to this new, nuclear family, is that of the extended family, which is becoming involved in daily family life, where in earlier years children hardly knew their grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins. Overall, there are a significant number of close family relationships developing on the Kibbutz than would have ever been developed in previous years, all due to the dissatisfaction expressed by earlier generations of the Kibbutz.
It is hard to predict what the Kibbutz will be like in future generations, especially since there have been so many changes in the style of living in the last thirty years. It is safe to say however, that there will be changes made because the younger generations always seem to be rebelling against the generations before them. It is clear with the latest generation that there has been a movement to a stronger nuclear family life, perhaps this movement will still be lacking in the minds of the younger generation, and further changes will still be made. According to older generations of the Kibbutz as well as some researchers as discussed in the book Twenty Years Later, any further development of the family may become a threat to the Kibbutz way of living. The family could end up being a true competitor to the whole communal system, and it may alter what it is that the founders of the Kibbutz set out to change about family in the first place. Only time, and future generations will be able to say for sure.