How do you think a family can be different from one another?

Answer 1

Dhruv Tanwani says Before understanding the question one should know what is family?how it has formed? what are elements of it?what are changing patterns of family? How long this will survive?how it did come in existence? etc. after that it will be esier to understand its difference with other fmilies. Family is one of the oldest and most common human institutions. Since prehistoric times, the family has been an important organization in society. Most people grow up within a family and, as adults, establish a family of their own. The term family commonly means a group of related people who share a home. The word family also refers to all a person's ancestors and other relatives. Most families are based on kinship--that is, the members belong to the family through birth, marriage, or adoption. However, some groups that are not based on kinship think of themselves as a family because they share a home or feel ties of affection. For example, foster children and their foster parents are not related by adoption, birth, or marriage. But they live together and consider themselves a family. In most industrialized Western countries, the typical family consists of a mother, a father, and one or two children. However, there are many other types of family structures. The smallest family unit consists of two persons, such as a parent and child or a couple who share a home and companionship. When a couple have children, the parents and their children make up a nuclear family. If married children and their offspring live with the parents, the family is called an extended family. An extended family's household might also include aunts, uncles, and cousins. Such relatives, along with grandparents, grandchildren, and others, form part of an extended family group even if they live in separate homes. Some cultures recognize a large kinship unit called the clan. A clan consists of all people who are descended from a common ancestor through their mother's or father's side of the family. The family fulfils many important functions in society, but the kinds of functions vary from one culture to another. In most societies, the family is the social unit into which children are born. The family also provides protection and training for the children. Human beings are born helpless and need care for several years after birth. Family life also helps children become familiar with the culture of their society. The family provides economic support for its members. Commonly, the adults receive income from jobs, investments, public welfare, or other sources. This money is then shared with the other members of the family. In some cases, the family functions as a group to make a living. All family members work together at farming or some other economic activity. The family may also be a means of preserving property. The children become heirs to their parents' land and other wealth. One function of the family in industrialized societies is to meet certain emotional and social needs of family members. Each member is expected to provide the others with affection, emotional support, and a sense of belonging. Definitions of family- In words of MacIver,"Family is a group defined by sex relationship, sufficiently precise and enduring to provide for procreation and upbringing of children."(Society p238) Nimkoff accordingly," Family is more or less durable association of husband and wife ,with or without children, or of man and woman alone,with children."(Marriage and Family.p.6) According to Kingsley Devis," Family is group of persons, whose relation to one another are base upon consanguinity and who are therefore kin to each other."(Human Society.p.397) Clare has explained family is" a system of relationship esisting between parents and children." On the basis of these definations following points can be deduced- 1-Universality- Family exist everywhere in various forms. People are related to one another by blood (through birth), by affinity (through marriage), or through adoption. Most nuclear families consist of a mother, a father, and their biological children (the children born to them). Many other nuclear families have members who are included through adoption or remarriage. When a couple adopt a child, the child becomes a member of their family. The adopted child gains all the legal rights of a member of that family. When a divorced or widowed parent remarries, the parent's new spouse (husband or wife) becomes the children's stepfather or stepmother. The children become the new parent's stepchildren. Children from the couple's previous marriages become stepbrothers and stepsisters to one another. Half brothers and half sisters share either the same biological mother or the same biological father. 2-Emotional basis- The home is the centre of family activities. These activities include caring for the children, playing games, watching television, housekeeping, and entertaining friends. In the home, children learn basic social skills, such as how to talk and how to get along with others. They also learn health and safety habits there. In addition, family meals can be a major source of nutrition for family members. All types of emotions are expressed in family. Emotional attachment with family is important. it moulds character of individuals. 3-Constructiv base- Traditions, which are based on a family's cultural background, strongly influence family life. Families can differ on account of their cultural heritage. For example, some people have little contact with relatives outside the nuclear family. But many others--especially those who belong to such cultural groups as the Chinese, Indians, Hispanics, and West Indians--feel strong ties to such relatives and see them often. Aunts, uncles, and cousins traditionally are important in the lives of these people. 4-Limited Size- As membership is restricted by birth and marriage ,so automatically size of family will remain small. Each one reach one ,is basis of family. All types of pleasures and sorrows are shared by each other .Due to biological conditions ,this is blood related group. 5-Unlimited responsibility of members- In words of MacIver,"In time of crisis men may work, and fight and diefor their country .but they toil for their familes all their lives." 6-Nuclear position in social structure- Traditionally, the father is required to support his wife and children. The mother is expected to run the home and care for the children. In many families, the father alone makes the major family decisions and is considered the head of the family. Any way family holds great place insocial stracture. 7-Permanent and temporary nature- When the son marries he goes to another place and starts living saprately. which may give rise to new families. 8- Importance of customs and Traditions Custom is a practice or a way of doing things that has been handed down from one generation to the next. Customs are part of the culture shared by members of a family. Many customs begin because people like to know what to expect in social situations. Like all cultural traits, customs are a form of learned behavior, and they differ among different peoples. For example, eating is a biological requirement for all people, but table manners and customs of food preparation vary from family to family. Types of family On the basis of number of members the family are two types of families ;nuclear and joint one The nuclear family- consisting of a husband, a wife, and their children, is considered the traditional family in many industrialized countries. As husband and wife, the couple hope to share companionship, love, and a sexual relationship. As parents, they are required by law to feed, clothe, shelter, and educate their children. Children depend on their parents for love and the basic necessities of life. The children, in turn, give emotional support to their parents and to their brothers and sisters. As the children grow older, they may be given various household chores. Most grown children eventually leave their parents' home. Traditionally, the father is required to support his wife and children. The mother is expected to run the home and care for the children. In many families, the father alone makes the major family decisions and is considered the head of the family. Today, however, many people are turning away from these traditional family roles and toward an equalitarian relationship. The parents make family decisions together. They hold the authority in the family but try to consider the children's opinions. The children may express their desires and opinions, and they have much freedom within the family. In most such families, both parents probably work outside the home. The father may help out more in taking care of the children. The father and children may share in chores that were traditionally performed by the mother alone, such as washing clothes, cleaning the house, and cooking. The Joint family- joint family consists more than one generations, who live ,eat together and share common roof and kitchen. There is provision of joint property also. The senior most member of family gets more respect and his words are treated as law. He can do no wrong. On the basis of authority ,family may be patriarchal and matriarchal; The Patriarchal family- The Muslim Arabs and Hindus have had an extended, patriarchal family system for centuries. Family ties are extremely strong, and many related families commonly live near one another. The culture allows polygyny, but few men practise it. Women have little freedom and live in separate women's quarters in the house. If a husband divorces his wife, their children remain in his home. Increasingly, the family patterns of some Muslim Arab communities are changing and coming to resemble those of Western cultures. This change is most common in the large, industrial cities, where the people are exposed to Western ideas. Some feature of such families areas follow- A-The wife after maaraige comes to live in the home of the husband. B-The father is supreme lord of the family property. C-The children are known by the name of their father D-Children have no right over the property of mother's family. The matriarchal family - there are some tribes like Garo and Khasi of Aasam wher family is knownby the name of mother. Some feature of such families areas follow- A-The husband after maaraige comes to live in the home of the wife. B-The mother is supreme lord of the family property. C-The children are known by the name of their mother. D-Children have no right over the property of father's family. Functions of Family The home is the centre of family activities. These activities include caring for the children, playing games, watching television, housekeeping, and entertaining friends. In the home, children learn basic social skills, such as how to talk and how to get along with others. They also learn health and safety habits there. In addition, family meals can be a major source of nutrition for family members. The family provides economic support for its members. Commonly, the adults receive income from jobs, investments, public welfare, or other sources. This money is then shared with the other members of the family. In some cases, the family functions as a group to make a living. All family members work together at farming or some other economic activity. The family may also be a means of preserving property. The children become heirs to their parents' land and other wealth. One function of the family in industrialized societies is to meet certain emotional and social needs of family members. Each member is expected to provide the others with affection, emotional support, and a sense of belonging. 1--Biological Functions-As a biological human beings there are so many instincts and needs of the person. There are four important functions in this regard -A -it is usually expected that sexual relations between men and women take place inside some kind of marriage relationship or pairing and that they are regulated by some social rules. Family exist to control sexual behavior so that the new offspring are as healthy as I possible.B- there is maternal and paternal instincts in every person.family provide all the facilities of the same.C-By fulfilling all the needs of members,family provide social security.D-during sickness,accidents and unemployment time family give social and mental security. These are important functions performed by the family. 2-Socilaization of family members-Babies are the most immature animal born. Many animals can help themselves survive within hours or weeks of birth. Even helpless kittens can move at five weeks of the birth. But human baby needs help in every matter of walking ,talking, toileting, cleaning etc. .There are many other ways to make human baby socialized and civilized in such etiquettes .human children are not socially mature till many years, because the rules of society are so complicated. therefore at every stage of life proper socialization is given to concerned members by concerned familes. It had been found by some psycholigsts who study human development that children find it difficult to learn how to love other people if they have never been taught to love by someone else who has loved them. 3- Economic functions-to provide economic support for all family members is important function. This can take take many forms in all societies.In hunting societies ,women forge for most of the food and men hunt to provide extra protein foods. In farmers family ,all the family members work to help produce food. Due to economic function all family members live together. 4-Cultural functions-people need to feel loved and wanted by other people, particularly when they are very young they can survive without, but for the most people their family is strong emotional bond. Children who are abuse and loathed by their parents ,often still love themeven if their feelings are horribly confused by the treatment that they received. In cultural function family let them knowA- the folkways and customs of society.B-principales of humanity like tolerance, sacrifice, honesty , discipline, laborious, dutiful etc C-the cultural ,moral and human values. 5-Religious function-Almost every family expects that their children should behave according to religious acceptance. For this they give lessons of desired and desired things to them. A God is only great and one should be God fearing person .The pious things should be adopted in life are some religious teachings. To develop moral values is ultimate function of family. 6- Political functions.-In words of Confucius's man is first member of family first and than of state and form of state depends on form of family." Firstly family gives direction to members as state does. secondly it decides fine and punishment for disobeying rules. thirdly it fixes the roles and rights of members .fourthly in case of any dispute among members, it gives chance to listen and instructs them to modify the behavior next time. 7-Recreatinal functions-it is always works as source of great entertainment. Granny of the family have great treasures of interesting stories .there are so many cultural and religious functions in family. During free time children recite their poems etc. Changing functions of family- In many industrialized countries, people are increasingly turning away from traditional family patterns. They are adopting new roles for family members and various kinds of family structures. Many of these changes reflect scientific, economic, and social developments and changing attitudes. For example, modern Birth Control methods enable couples to limit the size of their familyand to space their children. Many young people are postponing marriage and childbearing, and many couples want to have fewer children than people had in the past. The number of employed married women has been growing dramatically in industrialized countries. In the United States, for example, the percentage of married women who work outside the home has risen from about 15 per cent in 1940 to about 55 per cent today. This increase has led to many changes in family life. It has contributed to the ideal of the equalitarian family, in which each member is respected and neither parent tries to be the head of the family. Divorce has become more and more common. In the United States, statistics indicate that about half the marriages that took place during the 1970's are likely to end in divorce. In the United Kingdom, the divorce rate more than trebled between 1968 and 1987. But divorced people often remarry. This fact suggests that many divorced people have not given up on family life. Instead, they believe they can find happiness in marriage with a new partner. . Social conditions can affect family life in many ways. For example, black men have sometimes been discriminated against in getting well-paying jobs in some countries. Thus, black wives have been more likely than white wives to work outside the home in those countries, to help support the family. As a result, many of those black wives have tended to have more authority in family affairs than have the white wives. Almost every family has problems as a normal part of living together. Many problems can be worked out in the home. But some problems are difficult to solve. Unsolved problems may result in unhappiness and lead to a breakdown of the family. According to problems ,functios of family are changing. Other problems may result from remarriages by divorced or widowed people. Such remarriages create the blended family of wife, husband, and each of their own children. Quarrels between the new couple over their children are sources of conflict and new divorces. Children naturally have mixed feelings about their new family. They become painfully certain that their biological parents will not be reunited. Children who were very close to the single parent may feel displaced and jealous because the stepparent has a special and private relationship with their parent. Children also may feel fondness and love for their new family but be scared that the new marriage also will end in divorce or death. In addition, children may see their feelings of love as a mark of disloyalty to the absent parent. The rights and obligations between stepparent and stepchildren may seem different than those taken for granted between biological parents and children. Parents may recognize such differences, for example, in their right to discipline. Thus, stepparents and children are generally challenged to deal with many feelings that are not present in biological families. Treatment of family problems. Many families can receive help with some of their problems by consulting a trained family counselor, a member of the clergy, a social worker, or a psychologist. Many such specialists use a technique called family therapy. They meet with the entire family as a group to help them work out their problems together. Various public welfare agencies offer guidance and economic aid. Other organizations counsel family members who have a specific problem. There are also groups to aid runaway children or battered children and wives. Many people tend to view the family as separate from society. They think all family problems can be solved by dealing only with the family. They fail to realize that the family is part of society and that society influences family life. Such social problems as drugs, poor housing, and unemployment directly affect family life. Increasingly, sociologists are finding that Alcoholism, child abuse, runaway children, unhappy marriages, and certain other family problems are related to problems in society. They believe that such family problems can be reduced by dealing with the social conditions that help promote them. For example, programmes that create new jobs, improve housing, or restrict drug trafficking help support family life. With the existence of such programmes, the family is no longer solely responsible for overcoming all the social problems that affect it.