The Modern Family and Traditionalism

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Traditional and Modern Family All cultures reflect different levels of the importance of family. The Jewish have this famous saying, “God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers.” The Chinese believe if you know one’s family, you do not need to know the individual because his identity is directly linked to his family. For the Africans, family is one’s legacy, “A person who has children does not die.” On the other hand, the Americans adhere to strong family ties with the saying, “The apple does not fall far from the tree.” Each nation has something to say about how important the family is for individuals and the society. Family serves as the oldest and most fundamental form of human institutions and is considered as the basic unit of society (Samovar, Porter, McDaniel, p.53). As a biological unit, family members bound by blood ties, marriage or an equivalent relationship. The association among family members is based on the kinship between the father, mother, and their children. As a social unit, a family is group of people living together in one household that have different social roles. As a psychological unit, the family is defined based on personal feelings and emotional bonds of its members. Despite the great significance of the family to individuals and the society and its strong hold of cultural values, the family is not immune to economic and social changes that the world has witnessed over the past centuries. This paper looks into the changes or transformation of the “traditional” family to “modern” family across different cultures. This paper looks into role playing among father, mother, and children. The analysis focuses on the gender roles of fathers and mothers in parenting, economic function, propri... ... middle of paper ... ...world".Eds Rebecca Mlynarczyk and Steven Haber .Cambridge: Cambridge univ, press, 2005.p168-169. Loveless,S.; Holman, T. The Family in the New Millennium: World Voices Supporting The Natural Clan. CT: Praeger Pages. Millet, K. (2000). Sexual Politics. New York: Doubleday. Ndaw, Papa Aly."Traditional Family and Modern Society". "In our own world".Eds Rebecca Mlynarczyk and Steven Haber .Cambridge: Cambridge univ, press, 2005.p171- 173. Rosenthal, Carolyn J. "Kinkeeping." Encyclopedia of Human Relationships. Ed. Harry T. Reis and Susan Sprecher. Vol. 2. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2009. 949-951. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 12 Dec. 2012. Samovar, L.; Porter, R.; and McDaniel, E. Communication Between Cultures. MA: Wadsworth, 2010. Sandhu, D. Asian and Pacific Islander Americans: Issues and Concerns for Counseling and Psychotherapy.

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