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Essay / The family as a unit of society
A classic definition of the family, according to anthropologist George Murdock, is a social group characterized by common residence, economic cooperation, and reproduction. It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom are in a socially approved relationship, and one or more children, own or adopted, of sexually cohabiting adults. The U.S. Census Bureau has defined a family as two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption who reside together. Thus, a family may be composed of two or more adult brothers and sisters living together, of a parent and one or more children, of two adults related by marriage but having no children, or of adults who adopt a child. A family is a collection of human beings related to each other in a non-professional manner, giving rise to concrete cohesion within the family. Love, care and affection are the most important human values, responsible for maintaining these relational bonds within a family. (Agarwal, V.2005), not only this but a family also gives strength to an individual and through its strength an individual can also overcome different types of problems. A family gives strength to an individual; it is not only the strongest point but also the weakest point of an individual. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay A person learns different things from his family, but learning different things also varies from family to family. There are two basic types of family in our society: the joint family and the nuclear family. A joint family (or extended family) is also known as a complex family. Parents and their children's families often live under one roof, meaning that the joint family is made up of two or more generations. In some cases, joint family may be considered as a family in which a set of several nuclear families are interconnected either by blood ties or marital ties and reside under the same roof. All the members, irrespective of the particular nuclear family (within that joint family) they belong to, live together and share happiness, sorrow and virtually all kinds of problems and joys together. The joint family itself simulates a typical view of our multicultural and multilingual society in India and Bangladesh. (Agarwal, V.2005) Joint families are mainly found in Asia. The term nuclear family developed in the Western world to distinguish the family group and is considered the simplest type of family consisting of a married man and a woman with their family. offspring “The nuclear family may also be called a marital family because of its emphasis on the husband-wife relationship and the nuclear family is the basic unit of all more complex forms.” (Nimkoff, FM & Middleton, R. 1960) In Western countries like the United States, families have become more diverse and no single household arrangement accounts for half of the American population. Different types of families appear in widely varying contexts, and their specific functions and meanings depend largely on their relationships with other social institutions. Non-scholars, especially in the United States and Europe, use the term nuclear family to refer to conjugal families. Non-scholars, especially in the United States and Europe, also use the term "extended family". This term has two distinct meanings. First, it issynonymous with consanguineous family. Second, in societies dominated by the conjugal family, it refers to kinship. a joint family behaves, thinks differently than a nuclear family. People from a joint family encounter many different things and by facing these different things, they especially learn to face the social challenges of the real world. Living in a joint family is in itself a beautiful experience and between the two basic types of family, joint family is where a person gets different types of benefits, for example, he learns to love and earn respect, which is the key to a harmonious and never-ending relationship. Mutual respect and love are the greatest values that a joint family can offer. Not only does a person learn to love and earn respect, but he can also share his joys and sorrows; In a joint family there are many people who enjoy a particularly pleasant event and who provide support in times of family problems. (that is, in case someone is sick). When a person lives in a joint family, he may share many secrets with someone his own age (cousins), which he may not share with his elders or younger ones. but I can't do the same in a nuclear family. Another advantage of living in a joint family is the safety and development of children. In joint families, a child can be brought up properly and perfectly. The chances of a child being spoiled are less than those of a nuclear family. For example, in many cases we have seen that working women leave their child at home with their servant or babysitter and their company spoils the child, whereas in a joint family the cases are opposite ; there are enough people (like grandmother, aunts, etc.) to take care of the child. Despite all these advantages, the concept of joint family is disappearing from our society day by day; and the reason is that the mentality of people is changing, they do not want to depend on anyone and do not want anyone to oppose them, because in some cases it has been seen that the elders oppose the younger ones because they don't do it. anything specific. One of the disadvantages of living in a joint family is the unequal distribution of shares in the household economy. For example, in many families we have seen that there is a single point of income, such as a joint store, a single winning hand, or income generated periodically from fixed assets like rents and royalties. In such cases, the eldest member (or wage earner) is usually the one who assumes economic power and responsibility for managing household funds and who rationally divides each nuclear family's share (within the joint family). . Most of the time, his inability to do so becomes the cause of family separations. This inability, however, is due to various factors, including dishonesty on the part of oneself (or one's own nuclear family) or another family member, an inappropriate distribution of responsibilities and rights for each nuclear family, in matters of expenses. Each nuclear family's share in the joint family should be decided by balancing needs (education, clothing and special preferences), number of dependents, contribution to funds and any special expenses. This balance actually rests on a very sensitive fulcrum, which should be the result of a healthy exchange of honest thoughts from each person responsible for the joint family. Equal recognition of each individual is very important and also very important to not allow any inferiority orsuperiority. complex to insinuate itself into anyone's mind. This should be especially avoided when parents start expecting their child to be as bright as the children of other couples in the same joint family, for example. This sometimes gives rise to silent feelings of bitterness and these feelings can eventually lead to differences. Differences in opinion create a barrier between family members and this is one of the important things that all responsible family members must take care of. a joint family in a mature way. Healthy reflection on the issue at hand can result in an even healthier living environment. The other way to resolve this problem is to have a heated altercation, which escalates conditions, ultimately leading to separations. “(Agarwal, V. 2005) So these are the most common problems which are the reasons for partition or separation or to avoid living in a joint family, but on the other hand in doing so one moves away from loved ones and one accepts different types of risks while living in a nuclear family and one also forgets one's responsibilities towards one's loved ones and towards their entire family. Living in a joint family can reduce financial pressure or can be beneficial for an individual as the members contribute according to their income but it can also create problems between the family members as they do not contribute as much as possible. equal or due to a lower amount of money. People prefer to live in joint families, but due to misunderstanding (i.e. differences of opinion) between family members, an individual might avoid living there. But considering its benefits, people also like to live in a joint family. Living in a joint family is financially beneficial for all members of the family. Because by living together, members contribute according to their abilities and thus reduce the pressure on each other. People in our society face many problems; financial, social, family. One of the biggest problems is the decline of the family. In an advantageous conception of the nuclear family, two parents mean twice the chance of having a good income than a single parent. This means twice as likely that a parent will be home teaching their children and being a good role model. This means less stress for adults and children. This means more diverse influences. A child needs a mother's point of view and a father's point of view, not just once, it's not that balanced. Throughout our history and most of our civilizations, we have had extended families. Mom and Dad lived with, or near, Grandma and Grandpa, aunts and uncles, cousins; it was like having a gigantic family instead of a nuclear family. No strangers raising the kids, no worries of bankruptcy if someone loses their job, always someone there when you need them. The nuclear, isolated or small family is not a recent phenomenon, but has existed in many cultures throughout human history. Indeed, the extended family of several generations is mainly found in relatively advanced, stable and wealthy societies, but not yet industrialized. Very primitive and very sophisticated societies seem to prefer the nuclear family model. However, nuclear families can vary in their degree of isolation and restriction. For example, before the Industrial Revolution, the Western nuclear family was often embedded within a larger social unit, such as a farm or estate, an aristocratic court, or a village populated by relatives.Many of the city's older neighborhoods also maintained strong kinship ties, so even very small families remained open to the community. Family visits may be frequent and prolonged; children could move freely and feel at home in several homes. On the other hand, we have seen it, from the end of the 17th century; a trend toward proximity has reduced the size of many larger households and changed relationships among other family members. They became more concerned about each other. They needed each other more. The idyllic home of the bourgeoisie has become an island of serenity in the growing storm of modernization, a refuge sheltered from the outside world, from aggression, competition and class struggle. We also saw how this home sheltered women and protected children from sexual and other temptations. Other unpleasant social realities were also kept at bay. Family income was no longer earned inside, but rather outside the home. The gender division of labor became more pronounced as men spent more and more time away from their families as wage earners in factories, stores, and offices. Their wives became almost the sole companions of their young children, whose care and education were now their main responsibility. (Previously, these tasks were divided among mothers, grandmothers, nurses, and servants.) Virtually the only middle-class men who still worked from home were doctors and lawyers in private practice. But as a general rule, the bourgeois family only saw its head and breadwinner when he returned from work in the evening. This work itself remained an abstraction for both his wife and his children. In a typical nuclear family, there are two parents, and one or both are employed. So, if someone loses their job, the family either has no income or only half of what they had. But imagine a family with three or more parents, some of whom work. A job loss is then less of a disaster for the family. One of the biggest problems families face today is that no one can stay home to care for the children. It's a statistical fact that the second parent usually has to go out and work just to bring home roughly the same amount of money that the first parent pays in taxes. This hurts children, who end up being raised by babysitters and haphazard daycares. But in an extended family, it is much easier to ensure that there is always someone to look after the children and provide them with a good role model. Maybe two adults work and one stays home, or each works at different times. In a nuclear family, children will have fewer opportunities to get advice and encouragement from experienced elders. There will be problems in raising children and lack of care and affection from elders towards children. It is another question whether the nuclear family itself, even when complete, remains the best available option. Many people today are convinced that small single households are unprofitable and wasteful, that they are still emotionally unhealthy, that they perpetuate outdated stereotypical gender roles, and that they produce competitive and selfish children. a time when universal cooperation seems humanity's only hope. . It is also argued that the modern family no longer has any function other than that of ensuring love and intimacy, and that this is not enough, 63(4), 1009-1037.