Family Life

The immediate and extended families make up the household in Liberia. Depending on the family's income, a typical household may have one person or more than that. In rural places where it is normal for males to take on more than one wife, there will often be much more children than the typical family of four to five. Before becoming financially independent and moving out after they get married, children live with their parents. While it is normal for women to be married as young as 14 or 15, in cities, getting married before the age of 18 is against the law.

Liberia has a very conventional view of family responsibilities. Men are expected to contribute the majority of the household's finances and to have the most control over the home and family. Every aspect of childcare and domestic work is assumed to be done by women. Only women are allowed in the kitchen. Women working outside the house is becoming increasingly prevalent in metropolitan areas. Rural women are frequently encouraged to work in agriculture and become housewives at a young age.