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Everyone agrees that family is not what it used to be, and that is quite right. Ever-changing family dynamics and structure has made it extremely difficult to define a family. Due to modern shifts in mores and the overall attitude toward relationships and commitment, the ideal of the extended family has become extinct. Now, same-sex marriage, live-in relationship, domestic partnership, adoption, single parent, and cohabitation are becoming commonplace: the traditional nuclear family of husband, wife, and children is no longer the norm. Although the concept of the traditional family has been redefined, family is still the most vital core that shapes the identity of a person.
Every human being is created by a mother and a father, thus, everyone receives a unique genetic identity from one’s parents. After birth, parents provide a valuable social identification to their child, a particular name. Birth and name determine the first identity status of a person. Thereafter, throughout life, parental guidance is vital to develop and maintain that integrity of identification and sense of self.
Parents are the first examples children have in life, and they imitate them. During infancy, they spend so much time with their parents; the influence of parents is substantial. They learn about being cared for and how to give and receive love. Later, as toddlers, they are guided and socialized by their parents; they are almost an extension of their parents. Consciously or unintentionally, toddlers adopt many of their parents’ attributes. If parental traits include respect, responsibility, honesty, loyalty, forgiveness, and generosity, children usually learn this vast array of social skills. Moreover, it is in the family unit where children learn va...
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...erent race or nationality may grow up to be a very dangerous racist.
In short, as parents play different roles at different stages in a person’s life, parents are the single most important influence on a person’s physical, psychological and social well-being. Parents are influential simply because of their overwhelming presence and their role in personality development. An idol, friend, teacher, supporter, guardian, mentor, and counselor, parents are the perfect role models that shape the current and future life of an individual.
Works Cited
Meinke, Peter. "Advice to My Son." Reading Literature and Writing Argument. Ed.
Missy James and Alan Merickel. 5th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 439. Print.
Schalet, Amy. "The sleepover Question." Reading Literature and Writing
Argument. Ed. Missy James and Alan Merickel. 5th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 483-84. Print.
The role of nurturing parents in a family is an important factor that helps in the growing of personal independence and is the basis for emotional stability.
Family used to be a single unit, consisting of a husband, wife and children. This unit was widely thought as a group based on marriage and biological parenthood as sharing a common residence and united by ties of affection, obligations, care, support, and a sense of common identity. However, due to the change in values, laws, family structure and social trends, the definition of family has been defined as a married or cohabiting couple with or without children living under one roof, children may be dependent or independent. (Office for national statistics) (2006)
One definition is “a significant social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children.” While such definition is a good starting point, some modern family structures are excluded by such definition. In her essay, “Family: Idea, Institution, and Controversy,” Betty Farrell apparently assumes that the traditional family has dramatically changed, and the dynamics of change—altered the definition of a “family.” A family is no longer a picture of a particular image of the mythic past, referring to the golden days of the “1950s.” It is no longer a father, mother and their biological children living together under one roof (and certainly not with the a breadwinner father and a stay-at-home mother). In today 's modern society, it is now common to see women raising their children by themselves without their husbands’ help; unmarried couples living together; and gay and lesbian couples—while far from being universally accepted—adopting and raising children to complete their families. Therefore, despite the children living in one-parent households, or they do not live with their “married-heterosexual-biological-parents” under the same roof—does not necessarily mean they are not families. Farrell states that “a family is defined not so much by a particular set of people as by the quality of relationships that bind them together.” In other words, Farrell believes that a “family” is more than just a collection
Beyond genetics, parents have an extremely significant impact on the emotional, moral, and social development of their children. This is understandable, as many children interact solely with their parents until they reach school-age. Parents have the ability to determine a child’s temperament, their social abilities, how well-behaved or in control of their emotions they are, how mature and ambitious the child will be, and so forth. (Sharpe) Furthermore, parents have both ideals for their children as well as ideals for themselves, and how they raise their children is deeply influenced by this.
In my opinion, parents are the result of a young person’s actions. Parents or caregivers have the biggest influence in their children's lives. I think that the way you raise your children will reflect who they become and their morals. Growing up, a child learns by copying what their parents do for example for me, I got the habit of biting my nails from my mother. Cooking, cleaning, driving, are taught to us by our parents, therefore; children learn to carry on those skills they learn and use them in the future.
Parents and their parenting style play an important role in the development of their child. In fact, many child experts suggest that parenting style can affect a child’s social, cognitive, and psychological development which influence not just their childhood years, but it will also extend throughout their adult life. This is because a child’s development takes place through a number of stimuli, interaction, and exchanges that surround him or her. And since parents are generally a fixed presence in a child’s life, they will likely have a significant part on the child’s positive or negative development (Gur 25).
Leaders know that once a child is born and raised, they will have learned ways to act and react to different situations. Parents teach their children right from wrong and set an example for them. Once a child becomes a teenager and adult, they normally take after their parents influence. This can sometimes be a negative thing if the parents separated, fought constantly, or were addicts. If a person is raised in that environment, th...
“The most beautiful thing in this world is to see your parents smiling and knowing that you are the reason behind that smile.” Our parents’ first concern; which parenting style to follow in order to raise up a well-developed, and well-mannered person. Matter of fact, a huge debate went over this particular issue, whether strict parenting is the right method, or being leant is the correct method. "There is clear evidence that parents can and do influence children." (Maccoby 1). Although, there are numerous factors that can affect the parenting process, or affect the way the parents treat the child (Bossard 333) (Maccoby 1). For instance, different home circumstances... the divided home, or the neglectful home, or the mother-controlled home, or may be the overly demanding home, or the home with too many bosses, so all these different home atmospheres are major factors that affect the development of any child (Bossard 333). In addition, the parents’ attitude towards the child is mostly effective in the formation of the child's personality (Bossard 334). Furthermore, the genetic effect of the child is very important, researches proved that genes are one of the most effective factors in the parenting process, and genes affect the child's own behavior characteristics, and also influences the way the parents are tending to treat their son/daughter (Maccoby 5). I will explain the three major parenting styles and will prove that it is not possible to assume that there is one best style to follow, because each home or family have their own special cases or circumstances that will affect the parenting process
The sociological definition of the family is “a set of people related by blood, marriage or some other agreed-upon relationship, or adoption, who share the primary responsibility for reproduction and caring for members of society” (Schaeffer, 2009, p. 288). While the nuclear family (a man, a woman, and their children) was once the primary definition of family, now it refers to many familial configurations. Single-parent families, blended families, same-sex couples, traditional nuclear families and single-parents who have adopted are just a few of the configurations that society in general now views as a family. A healthy family will provide a place of unconditional love, acceptance and support.
Children’s development in all aspects are influenced by genetic composition (Nature) and the environment in which they grow (Nurture). They are influenced by all adults in which they come into significant contact. Smiling at someone unfamiliar or speaking to a stranger is less likely to have a lasting impact on the child or their development. However, parents and immediate family have the most impact on a child’s development. A family is defined as at least one adult and one child who live together and in which the adult is control of the child’s life and behavior as well as demonstrates responsible care for the child (McDevitt & Ormand, 2013). Parents are the primary educators and caregivers,
The unit of a family is the most prominent essential for all of us. As social human beings, we seek social support in order to thrive, and that is where family comes into play. A family is where you receive love, support, encouragement, and many other social benefits. The total number of households in the United States increased from 63 million in 1970 to 113 million in 2008 (Weeks, 2012). The family has influenced multitudes of people in many ways. The traditional family in the United States consists two-married individuals providing care and stability for their biological offspring also know as the nuclear family. However, the term of a true family has ultimately changed over the last 50 years especially for African Americans.
Relationships play an essential role in people’s everyday life. A person’s first relationship is the one with their parents, which has a huge impact on the way offspring will relate to others, and develop future relationships. There are many aspects that come into play between parents and their children, such as, the personality of the family members, the education received from the parents, the family history, and the environmental situation in which the household is located. In fact, there are a series of variables, such as the education given to the child, and more fundamental aspects that are essential to the well being of the members in the relationship, such as the unconditional acceptance of one another. Parental behaviors such as protection,
Family dynamics and their structure have gone through many changes in the last 100 years. The development of diverse and unique family styles was very interesting and I was surprised by the many changes over the spectrum of time. In addition, I discovered that I have been a little sheltered by my own environment. I had failed to learn about other cultures, but what I learned from this course and the way we define family was eye opening. Considering the definition of a family unit, it is easy to see how much that definition has changed. People living in the same home and celebrating the same belief system, although not related by blood, are still considered family. From single parents, to grandparents raising the grandchildren, and homosexual
Parenting carries love, moral values, life skills, knowledge, traditional and so on to their children all the time. Most of the children practice the moral values, knowledge, and tradition which taught by their parents. In this way, most of them follow and believe in their parents’ word. Basically, children world views and mind were deeply shaped by their parents. Most of the children exercise what their parents practice. Children learn to make sense of what is going on around them by interact with their parents and surroundings. Through the “eyes” of their parents, they learn to see, think, question and look for answer which can satisfy them. If children were raised in a good or positive way, there is a very great probability that our society would be better off. Hence, from my point of view, parenting should be a privilege for a better future not only for the children it own but also our society.
To thoroughly elaborate on the institution of family we most look at the family as it was before and how much it has changed over time. Throughout the years we are recognizing that the family is slowly being replaced by other agents of socialization. Families in the past consisted of a mother and a father and most times children. We are, as many societies a patriarchal society; men are usually the head of the households. This has always been considered the norm.