What is family in simple words?,Meaning,definition, types, elements and functions of family
Family means a group of some related people who live in the same house.
Family members are related to the family by birth,
marriage and adoption. This shows three characteristics of the family.
These are – the couple gets the moral status of husband and wife by getting married
and they also establish physical relationship.
Second, family means having a single residential place for all its members. Of course,
it is also observed that sometimes one or more members of the family may have to stay
away from home temporarily for work.
Similarly, old parents, uncles and their children are also part of the family.
Third, the family consists not only of the married couple but also of the children
their own or adopted. Couples give birth to their
children and adopted children are legally adopted by the couple.
Clearly, the family is the first organized unit of society.What is family in simple words?
What is family in simple words?,Meaning,definition,
It is difficult to define family.
It is not because there is only one meaning of family all over the world.
There are societies where only a husband-wife family is found.
Some societies have polygamous families and some have polygamous families.
From the point of view of structure, there are central families.
Countries in Asia like India or Japan have extended or joint families.
It is very difficult to give such a definition of family which is equally applicable to all the societies.
meaning of family
The word family is a variation of the English word ‘Family’,
which is derived from the Latin word ‘Famulus’.
The word family has not always been given the same meaning.
The original Latin term ‘familias’ also included parents,
children, servants and slaves. The Greeks used the word ‘Oikonomia’ for the family,
which meant a larger group than the above mentioned group. In general,
the family includes parents and their children.What is family in simple words?
definition of family
Ogburn and Nimkoff – “Family is a more or
less permanent union of husband and wife with
children or a union of a woman or a man alone with children.”
Sarvshri Maciver and Page “Family is a group which is based on
relations and which is so small and permanent that children can be born and nurtured in it.”
Mr. Burgess and Locke “Family” is the name of that group of
persons in which they are not separate by being bound by marriage,
blood or adoption, but they form a household.
In this household they influence each other as husband and wife,
parents, sons and daughters and brothers and sisters and establish
relationships with each other.
They all create and maintain a common culture in a household.
Mr. Weils and Heizer “Family may be briefly defined as a social
group whose members are related to each other on the basis of blood.”
family type
1. Joint family
Family is considered very important in our country.
What are the characteristics of joint and nuclear families.
The joint family consists of a few nuclear families and is quite large.
It consists of husband and wife,
their unmarried girls, married boys, their wives and children.
It is a group of people of one or two generations who live together.
The characteristics of joint family are-What is family in simple words?
- All the members live under one roof.
- All the members have a common kitchen.
- All the members are partners in the property of the family.
- All members attend family events, festivals and religious festivals together.
- In a joint family, decisions are taken by the eldest male member of the household.
Traditionally only joint families were found in our society.
Now change is coming especially in urban areas.
The practice of joint family still continues in agricultural households.
The advantages of joint family are-What is family in simple words?
- It makes family members friendly. Work, especially agricultural work, can be divided.
- It takes care of the old, helpless and unemployed in the family.
- Young children are well looked after, especially when both parents are working.
- After the death of the mother or father, the child gets complete emotional and financial support in the joint family.
- Financial security is more in joint family.
There are also some problems of joint family-
- Sometimes women are given less respect.
- Often a dispute arises between the members regarding property or any business.
- Some women have to do all the household work. They get very little time and opportunity to enhance their personality.What is family in simple words?
2. Nuclear family
In which husband and wife and their unmarried children live.
Sometimes an unmarried brother or sister of the husband may also live with them.
Then it will be an extended family. Some of the advantages of living in a nuclear family are-
- Nuclear family members are generally more self-dependent and they are full of self-confidence and capable of taking initiative in any work.
- In nuclear families, children are encouraged to take their own decisions, which increases their self-confidence.
- A deep emotional attachment develops between the members. This is possible due to more solitude and opportunities for mutual reconciliation, which are well available in nuclear families.
- It has been observed that where a society becomes more industrialized and urban, the probability of having a nuclear family increases. One of the main reasons for the prevalence of nuclear families in big cities is the housing problem. Large families also require more space to live. If families have to live comfortably, they have no choice but to live in nuclear families.
Problems of nuclear families-
In nuclear families, the newly married couple does not have the support of any elder.
No experienced person is available to advise them.
When both the parents are working there is no one left to take care of the children.
In bad times, the family has no financial and emotional support.
It is difficult to learn the values of harmony, teamwork and cooperation in nuclear families.
main elements of family
The institution of family is universal but it is also true that family is not the same in all societies.
Somewhere there is a polygamous family,
and somewhere polyandry. Somewhere there are patrilineal families and somewhere matrilineal.
Despite this diversity, the majority of families are a husband-wife family.
Here we will mention the symptoms commonly found in the family –
- Sxual relations – In all societies, sxual relations are essentially found in the family.
- Reproduction – A great feature of the family is procreation. People all over the world have believed that if reproduction is not done, the continuity of the society will end.
- Economic Bondage – Families are not formed only by the acceptance of sxual relations. Economic ties do the work of keeping the members of the family tied in a thread.
- Parenting – The dependence of human offspring on the family is much greater than that of animals. It is the family that nurtures the children; Gives them education and initiation and in our country only the family gets them married and provides them with economic independence.
- Size of the family – Perhaps the most important characteristic of a family is its size. Generally a family consists of children apart from husband and wife. Sometimes, apart from these members, there are other members in the family, such families are called extended or joint families. More than two generations live in these families.
family functions
- The family takes the best care of infants and children, adolescents, the sick, and the elderly.
- It educates its members who learn to live life in a family environment. Children are taught the rules of society, how to interact with other people, how to respect and obey elders, etc.
- The basic needs of each member of the family such as food, shelter and clothing are provided. They help in household chores and responsibilities.
- It is also a source of entertainment. The family can be a source of happiness where all the members can talk to each other, play and do different activities. These activities can be from domestic work to festivals or birth, engagement and marriage etc.
- The family also performs the function of socialization of the children. Parents also teach children the lessons of living together with people, loving, sharing, helping in times of need and discharging responsibility.
- The family also performs sxual function which is the biological need of every living being.