The word 'family' is defined as a unit of two or more people related by blood or marriage. They live and spend time together, raise their children. Procreation is one of the functions of the family. Some couples prefer to have children and unfortunately some do not ,in some cases because of health problems. Countries differ in their laws and norms concerning who and at what age can marry. Western societies seek to have a 'nuclear' family consisting of parents and their adopted or biological children ,but the most common form of the family is 'expanded' family, it may include parents, their children and also uncles , aunts, nieces ,nephews, cousins, and grandparents. People create families for their security and love. If you live in an extended family, there is always someone who can help you .The form of the family changes as the society changes .And the well being of the family depends on the well being of the country. Couples have children to have their support when they get old. Having child is great, bringing a little life into the world. Nowadays people prefer to have only one child in their family. It happens not because of their unwillingness to have more children, but because of some factors that influence their decision making. Firstly, some people do not have enough money to provide enough food for the family members, some can't have more than one child due to the government's policy (China as an example) and secondly ,for people's material values are more important than having a family. Having a child is a great responsibility. You need to earn enough money for yourself and for your child. Not only to buy food or some clothes, but also to give your child the ability to attend dance classes as for example or to stud... ... middle of paper ... ...uples consider themselves to be too young to have a child,their career is taking off. They want to earn a lot of money to buy an expensive car or a big house. Such people more focusing on their job, their career, on themselves, they think that life is better without children. They think if having children they will have to give up on the career and focus more on the family. The great role plays the fact concerning in which family husband and wife were born. Whether it is an extended family or nuclear ,it influences a lot on the future of children's family. If a person was born in an extended family he would seek to have the same size of the family and it's the same with nuclear family. Nowadays people have different values than some 10 years ago. People of older generations even didn't think of a divorce, but now for modern societies this is just a simple thing.
there is also an increase in friends placed in the voluntary kin category. The article states that people who are single or live alone think of themselves as a family. Yet studies shown that these single families tend to keep more in touch with the relatives. A statement that Dr. Coontz makes is that We’re seeing a class divide not only between the haves and the have-nots, but between the I do’s and the I do nots,”. The article also states that the way demographer noticed differences in today’s family from previous one was through the birth rates, today’s rate is about half of what it used to be in 1960. After the era of the baby boom in 1964, the rate was 36 percent, and last year the number dropped to 23.5 percent predicting a 21 percent of child births by 2050. This because less women are become mothers – yet those who are only have one or two children compared the 3 children per family in the 1970s. Another reason the articles bring up about child care is the expenses, a child can easily cost a family as little as 241,080 to about a million dollars. However, the article agrees with chapter when it states that women with a bachelor or higher wait longer to get married and have children (about 90 percent)
Traditional family in today’s society is rather a fantasy, a fairy tale without the happy ending. Everyone belongs to a family, but the ideology that the family is built around is the tell tale. Family structures have undeniably changed, moving away from the conventional family model. Nowadays more mothers work outside of the home, more fathers are asked to help with housework, and more women are choosing to have children solo. Today there are families that have a mom and a dad living in the same home, there are step-families, and families that have just a mother or just a father. Probably the most scrutinized could be families that consist of two moms or two dads. These are all examples of families and if all members are appropriately happy and healthy then these families are okay and should incontestably be accepted. So why is the fantasy of the traditional family model still so emphasized in our society? This expectation is degrading and misleading. Progressing with times one ought not be criticized or shunned for being true to their beliefs. It is those living falsely, living as society thinks they should that are the problem. Perhaps as a society, if there were more focus and concern for happiness and peace within ones family and fewer worries for the neighbor then there would be less dilemma.
In the course of this essay I shall be looking at the role of the
When everyone is influenced by different people, they will all have different mindsets and personalities, which results in individualism. Mustapha Mond proclaimed, ”The greatest care is taken to prevent you from loving any one too much,” (pg. 161). The strong emotional tie associated with family disrupts the productivity of an individual which threatens the stability of society. Family issues such as divorce or death of a loved one negatively impacts the quality of work one produces because instead of focusing on the assignment, the person is focusing on their family. On the other hand, modern society views “the family was the most important unit of society…It played an essential role in fulfilling the emotional and physical needs of individuals, which was necessary for the achievement of economic and social development,” (www.un.org). Modern society believes that families are essential to support one another in a difficult situation. When
"A family is a small social group of people related by ancestry or affection, who share common values and goals, who may live together in the same dwelling, and who may participate in the bearing and raising of children. They have a physical or emotional connection with each other that is ongoing" (Vissing, 2011) and is the foundation of all societies. They can be formed by a grouping of father-mother-children or even more complicated combination of relatives. In the primary stage of family life in the United States, everyone from every generation lived together in one house. Subsequently, the idea of traditional family evolved and a married couple with children is at present, often called the traditional family. There are many types of families; however, this paper will focus on the traditional family. It will describe how the functionalist perspective, conflict perspective, and the interactionism theory apply to the sociological institution known as a family. It will explain some of the similarities and differences between the sociological theories in regards to families and how they affect the family members.
THOSE OF US WHO grew up in the 1950s got an image of the American family that was not, shall we say, accurate. We were told, Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver, and Ozzie and Harriet were not just the way things were supposed to be—but the way things were
Society seems to have many different opinions when it comes to relationships and families and what is ideal. The ideal family may not exist anymore. We now have in our society families that are complete that do not necessarily contain the traditional material. The traditional family, as society would see it; usually consist of a married, mother and father and usually children. Moms are supposed to stay at home while dads work the forty-hour a week job. However, in our 2003 world, families exist in a lot of non-traditional ways. A lot of families now consist of single parent families, or same sex parents and their children, or even couples that are unmarried but live together. And even now, if a family contains what society sees as traditional as far as having a mom, dad, and kids, other aspects are not traditional anymore. Women now have more opportunity in the workplace than they have ever had, therefore, many moms are career moms and dads are sometimes staying at home. Years ago, these types of families were given labels for being dysfunctional or abnormal, however, this label is not holding up as well as it did years ago. There are many non-traditional families that are raising children in a loving, nurturing home with a substantial amount of quality love. Quality is the key in any relationship between anyone. Society is finding out that it is not the traditional image that makes a loving family, but the quality of a relationship that people give to each other is what really makes a family. In the essay "The Myth of the "Normal" Family", written by Lousie B. Silverstein and Carl F. Auerbach, they make references to the cultural idea of what a "normal" family should be and what i...
This paper will examine sociological theories and how they relate to the social institution of the family. We typically view society as a group of people, but in sociology, society is not a group of people but a social organization. People are molded by society to fit within the accepted societal bounds. Society must be understood using “the meanings that people put on their values and beliefs” (Bartle, 2010). Within sociology there are three major perspectives. These are the Functionalist, Conflict and Interactionist Perspectives. Each perspective views society in different manners, with each being correct and relevant since social institutions are too complex to be defined by any one theory. Each perspective will be used to explain the perspectives’ relevance to the family.
In life, the moment we grow up is the day we start to visualize the future. Questions like, “How will I maintain this job?” “How will I begin a family?” “When will people start to recognize me for my talents?” “Will I ever fulfill my dream?” start to arise. Also, many other questions are being asked all the time, but since we are all different, everyone’s life questions are not the same. Matter fact, the easiest answer to our life questions are the lessons we learned at home and the lessons we were taught as kids. Therefore as kids, we learn all of these unique different lessons from our parents or family in general. Dedicated and responsible parents or members of the family know that children are the future. A family’s job and presence is to provide children with a feeling of belonging and creativity of their identity. Families should be a source of emotional support, comfort, protection, and etc. The relationships we create and mend creates our future self mentally and emotionally. Love is a strong word that cause us to either become strong or weak as an individual. Love comes and goes, but we start to realize that only unconditional love we really need is the love from our family. A family’s love is what causes us to grow into the person we should become. The theme of family is presented in a way to build the character’s charisma and how much support becomes a lifeline.
The television sitcom Modern Family produced by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd shows the many different types of a modern American family. According to Andrew Hampp, “The show is among the most-viewed scripted programs in prime time in its second season, averaging 11 million viewers during original airings and often ranked as the most DVRed program most weeks” (2). The television show is a frequently watched show and is liked by many viewers. Modern Family's storyline helps the families of viewers by being an influential and relatable show to different types of families. The show is about the lives of three different families that are all related. In the show there are Jay and Gloria, an intergenerational couple with two sons-- Manny (from Gloria’s previous relationship) and Joe, their new baby. Jay’s adult son Cameron is married to his gay partner Mitchell, and they adopted Lily from Vietnam. Finally, Jay’s daughter Claire is married to her heterosexual partner named Phil and they have three children. The show is influential to our culture today because it shows these different types of families and addresses controversial themes such as gay adoption, the different family connections and communications, intergenerational coupling, and acceptance of diversity within an extended family. The family is easy to relate to while watching because it is based off of real family situations.
Family has played an intricate role in the development of the society in which we live. The diversity in which families are formed is now becoming even more diverse with the American culture, which is changing at a rapid pace. Diverse cultures coupled with social economic challenges are key contributors to the dramatic change to the institution of family. With these challenges facing the institution of family, this closely tightknit unit which has been the cornerstone of American society has diminishing from a traditional standpoint. Non-kinship family networks like the one described in Karen V. Hansen’s “The Cranes, An Absorbent Safety Net,” goes against the norm of the common institution of family within America. Although the Crane family
When the word “family” is discussed most people think of mothers, fathers, and other siblings. Some people think of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even cousins and more on the pedigree tree. Without family in people 's lives they would not be the same people that they grew up to be today and in the future. When people hear the word family they think about, the ones who will help them in any way they can whether it 's money, support, advice, or anything to help them succeed in life. Family will forever be the backbone of support. They are the ones who support their children during those life decisions. Family is not always blood related. Finally family is forever, family will never go away.
Does everybody have the capacity to become a parent? All people need to know the needs of babies. It is a great responsibility to have a baby and it will change your life. People who want to become parents need to inform themselves and they should focus on giving a better life to their children. Not everyone has the ability to care for a child correctly and not everyone has the essentials that are needed as food money home and provide love. There are people waiting to have children and give them all the best they can and there are parents who abuse their children. Also having a child is a natural part of every human’s life but this doesn't mean all people have the capacity
Sociologists look at society from either a macro or micro view and the theories that define their work are based on those perspectives. There are several family theories that we learned about this semester. Briefly, Structural-Functionalism and Conflict Theory are “macro” theories in sociology. Structural-Functionalism sees society as a living machine made up of different parts which work together for the good of society. Individuals, as well as Institutions work together, and the family is the key to the well-functioning machine. Emile Durkheim, considered the Father of Sociology argues social solidarity, where people do the right thing, create harmony and have shared values. According to Durkheim the nuclear family is the only type of institution that can achieve that. Conflict Theory sees society as a pyramid with those at the top having more power and influence than those at the bottom. Males in society have more power than females. There is a power imbalance, which could lead to oppression o...
The social institution I have chosen to address is that of family. An individual’s family life, both past and present, can have such a big impact on a person’s life in both a positive and negative manner. It is how we as individuals chose to handle life changing situations that will shape our lives and those around us. Family is such a fascinating social institution to study because every individual comes from a different family background or has a different experience than that of a sibling. You can learn so many things about a person by looking into their family background, origin and what type of up brining they had.