3. Basic Ideas About The Family
Sociologists study the family because it is the
primary socialization agency of society.
It forms one of the central experiences of an
individual‟s life - as a child and most adults
through parenthood.
The family is the place where we are most
likely to be ourselves.
4. Defining the Family
Household refers to the place
of domesticity.
„Agroup of persons directly linked
by kin connections, the adult
members of which assume
responsibility for caring for
children‟.
Anthony Giddens defines the family as:
Kinship refers to relationships based on
biological or marital ties.
5. Defining the Family
Family is a group defined by sexual relationship, sufficiently
precise and enduring to provide for the procreation and
upbringing of children. - Maclver
Family is a group of persons united by ties of marriage, blood
or adoption constitut-ing a single household interacting and
inter-communicating with each other in their respective social
roles of husband and wife, father and mother, son and
daughter, brother and sister, creating a common culture
- Burgess and Locke
6. Murdock and Goode on the
Nuclear Family
George Murdock argued that the basic
family unit across the world is the nuclear
comprised of a mother, a father and their
offspring.
William Goode (1963) argued that the
worldwide trend is to move towards the
Western model of the nuclear family.
7. Other Definition
• Basic unit of the society
• Social group characterized
by a common residence,
economic cooperation, and
reproduction (Murdock)
8. Other Definition
• Socially approved sexual
relationship and their
children, owned or adopted.
• A group of persons united by
the ties of marriage, blood or
adoption, constituting a
single household, interacting
and communicating with
each other.
9. The family is the
group
that first socializes
the individual
and provides his
basic
social needs.
10. Our Task in Studying the
Family
To explore the meanings of
family life to its members.
To understand the role of
the family in acquiring
culture.
To ask is the family
in decline and
dying?
To recognize positive and negative features of family life
To the ways in which the family is changing.
11. Characteristics of the Family
1. Family is a Universal group. It is found in some form or the
other, in all types of societies whether primitive or modern.
2. A family is based on marriage, which results in a mating
relationship between two adults of opposite sex.
3. Every family provides an individual with a name, and hence,
it is a source of nomenclature.
4. Family is the group through which descent or ancestry can be
traced.
5. Family is the most important group in any individual‟s life.
12. 6. Family is the most basic and important group in primary
socialization of an individual.
7. A family is generally limited in size, even large, joint
and extended families.
8. The family is the most important group in society; it is
the nucleus of all institu-tions, organizations and
groups.
9. Family is based on emotions and sentiments. Mating,
procreation, maternal and fraternal devotion, love and
affection are the basis of family ties.
10.The family is a unit of emotional and economic
cooperation.
13. 11. Each member of family shares duties and
responsibilities.
12. Every family is made up of husband and wife,
and/or one or more children, both natural and
adopted.
13. Each family is made up of different social
roles, like those of husband, wife, mother,
father, children, brothers or sisters.
14. Functions of the Family
1. The family is a unit of reproduction. It regulates the
sex behavior of people in any given society. Through
marriage, sexual intercourse is sanctioned. In this
function, the perpetuation of the group becomes
possible.
2. It performs the function of biological maintenance.
As a child is born, the parents take the role of providers
and protectors providing the child his basic needs. Even
in the time of ageing, members receive support as well
as care from the family.
15. 3. The family socializes the members. It is the major
agency for socialization. It transmits culture from
generation to generation through the family. The child
acquires the standards of morality from his family. It is
in the family where he first experiences values
formation and development.
4. It provides status to the members. Every child is born
to his family to which provides him status, name, and
lineage. He is provided with attitudes and values derived
mainly from his family. Goals in life are surely
influenced, to a large extent, by the family.
16. 5. It serves as an important mechanism for social
control. It exerts efforts on the members on what it
considers as desirable behavior according to societal
standards and norms. In order to maintain its good
name and image in the community, it has to keep its
members within the bounds or limits set by society.
6. The family serves as the first and foremost school
where every child learns the major lessons in life. As
such the parents perform a very vital role in the child‟s
development and formation. Basic values are learned
from the parents.
17. 7. It performs other functions to meet the
material, economic, religious, and social
needs of the child . It is from the family where
the child learns basic concepts of authority,
structure, etc. and where he develops his self-
image and self-concept.
18. Family Development Tasks
1. Physical maintenance – provides shelter, food,
clothing, healthcare, etc.
2. Allocation of resources – meeting family needs and
costs, apportioning material goods, facilities, space,
authority, respect, affection, etc.
3. Division of labor – deciding who does what, assigning
responsibility for procuring income, managing the
household, caring for the family members and other
specific tasks.
19. 4. Socializing family members – guiding the
internalization of increasingly mature and
acceptable pattern of controlling elimination,
food intake, sleep, aggression, etc.
5.Reproduction, recruitment, and release of
family members – bearing or adopting children
and rearing them for release and maturity,
incorporating new members by marriage, and
establishing policies for inclusion of others: in-
laws, relatives, step-parents, guests, family,
friends, etc.
20. 6. Maintenance of order – providing means of
communication, establishing types and intensity
of interaction, patterns of affection, and sexual
expression by administering sanctions insuring
conformity to group members.
7.Placement of members in the larger society –
fitting into the community, relating to church,
school, organizational life, political and economic
systems, and protecting family members from
undesirable outside influence.
21. 8. Maintenance of motivation and morale –
rewarding members for achievements,
satisfying individual needs for acceptance,
encouragement and affection, meeting
personal and family crises, refining a
philosophy of life and sense of family loyalty
through rituals and festivities.
22. Classification of Family
Structures
1.According to organization and membership
2.According to place of residence
3.According to descent
4.According to authority
5.According to form of marriage
23. According to Organization and Membership
a. The nuclear family is composed of a husband (father)
and his wife (mother) and their children in the union
recognized by the society. Any individual belongs to two
kinds of families: (1) family of orientation and (2) family
of orientation.
24. The family of
orientation is that
into which one is born
and where one is
reared and socialized.
The family of
procreation is that
established by the
person by his
marriage.
25. According to Organization and Membership
b. The extended family is composed of two or more
nuclear families related to each other economically and
socially. It comes in two types: conjugal family and
consaguineal family.
26. The conjugal family which
considers the spouses and
their children as of prime
importance and which has a
fringe of comparatively
unimportant relatives.
The consaguineal family
which considers the nucleus of
the blood relatives as more
important than the spouses.
The relationships of the
persons with the blood kin
formed during childhood are of
prime importance.
27. According to Place of Residence
a. The patrilocal family requires that the newly wed couple
live with or near the residence of the parents of the groom.
b. The matrilocal family requires the newly wed couple to live
with or near the residence of the parents of the bride.
c. The bilocal family provides the newly wed couple the
freedom to select where to reside, i.e. near the groom or the
bride‟s family.
d. The neolocal family permits the newly wed couple resides
separately from the bride or the groom‟s parents
28. According to Descent
a. The patrilineal descent affiliates a person with a group of
relatives related to him through his father. The person is
also related to his mother‟s kin, but in terms of closeness,
he turns to his father‟s kin.
b. The matrilocal descent affiliates a person with a group of
kinsmen related to him through his mother.
c. The bilateral descent affiliates a person with a group of
kinsmen related to him through both his father and mother.
29. According to Authority
a. The patriarchal family is one where authority is
vested in the oldest male member, often the father.
This is characterized by family solidarity and ancestor
worship.
b. The matriarchal family is one in which authority is
vested in the mother. This is rarely found. However in
many societies, the mother dominates the household.
30. According to Authority
c. The equalitarian family is one in which the
husband and the wife exercise a more or less equal
amount of authority.
d. The matricentric family where the absence of the
father who may be working gives the mother a
dominant position in the family.
31. According to Forms of Marriage
a. Monogamy permits the man to have only one spouse at
any time.
b. Polygamy is plural marriage. It assumes any of the
following: polygyny and polyandry.
• Polygyny refers to marriage of one man to two or more
women at a time. It involves common household,
economic cooperation, and sexual reproduction.
• Polyandry is the marriage of one woman to two or more
men at the same time. This form of marriage is very rare.
32. Influences on the
Classification of Family
Structures
1. Industrialization
2. Divorce/Annulment/Legal Separation
3. Social Class
4. State benefits
33. Industrialization
The industrialization era is where the society moved from an agrarian one
to a mechanized one.
According to Talcott Parsons, the industrialization era brought with it
increased geographical and social mobility, resulting in the break down
of the extended family to the privatized nuclear family.
35. Social Class
Class highly influences the family structure,
as those with low incomes tend to have a
higher divorce rate due to financial conflicts.
• Lower class families are usually
matrifocal or single parent and tend to
contribute to the financial and social
instability of the society, as the
financial responsibilities now fall on
the one parent due to the withdrawal
of the contribution of the other
parent.
• Middle class families tend to have
less kids than lower class ones
although there is more financial
stability.
• Higher class families have an
average of one or two children, thus
making most higher class families
nuclear ones.
36. State Benefits
Since the state began
granting benefits to
single parents, there
has been a marked
emergence of single parent
families as less people are
encouraged to get
married to seek economic
support as it is
provided by the state.
37. Kinds of Family Structures
Adoptive families. family where one or more of the children
has been adopted.
Sometimes children (as well as adults)
use the term” real parents” instead of
“birth parents”. Be clear that the
adoptive parents are the real parents
because they are raising the child.
Intervene if other children tease an
adopted child with comments such as
“That isn’t your real mommy”. Do not
automatically assume that any
problems a child may be having are
due to adoption.
38. Bi-racial or multi-racial family. A family where the parents are
members of different racial identity groups.
Trans-racial adoptive family: A family where the adopted child is of
a different racial identity group than the parents.
Children in these families are not “half
and half”, nor do they have to chose
one identity over another. Each child is
fully who they are. Find out what terms
the family uses to describe their
various racial identities. As racial
identity remains one of the most
contentious and difficult issues in the
United States, be prepared to listen
especially carefully and respectfully to
what the family believes and what they
want their child to value about her/his
identity.
39. Blended family. family that consists of members from two (or
more) previous families.
Families may use a variety of terms for the various family members (Step Dad,
Gary, Poppop, etc.) and have varying connections with extended family
members.
Encourage children to show all of their family in drawings and to make gifts for
everyone (if you do that kind of activity). Be clear that all family members are
“real” and that all the relationships are important to the child.
40. Dysfunctional family. highly derogatory term used to describe
the homes of children from divorced/annulled families. Very
hurtful.
Be clear that there is
no such thing as a
broken family. Each
family form is what it is
and is
a family!
41. Co-custody family. An arrangement where
divorced/annulled parents both have legal responsibility for
their children. Children may alternatively live with both
parents or live with one and have regular
visitation with the other.
Find out right away which
parent is responsible for the
child on what days, who picks
up child, etc. Encourage
children to acknowledge both
homes—do not ask them to
choose.
42. Foster family. A family where one or more of the children is legally a
temporary member of the household. This “temporary” period may be as
short as a few days or as long as the child‟s entire childhood. Kinship
care families are foster families where there is a legal arrangement for
the child to be cared for by relatives of one of the parents.
Use whatever terminology the child
uses about their foster parents
(they may call them
Mom or Dad or they may use their
first names or may call them Mama
2 and Papa 2, etc).
Check with the foster parents
about what they have told the child
about the absent family
and the likelihood of reuniting. If
the original parents are able to
visit, and wish to come to
the school, make them welcome.
Never ask a child to chose who is
most important to them..
43. Gay or lesbian family. A family where one or both of the parents‟
sexual orientation is gay or lesbian. This may be a two-parent family, an
adoptive family, a single parent family or an extended family.
In many parts of the United States, these
families may not be allowed full legal
rights to their children, and in most parts
of the country they face significant social
prejudice.
It is up to the Early Childhood
professionals to prove that they are open
and safe to talk with. No one but the
members of the family has the right to
“out” a family (reveal their sexual
orientation) to anyone else. Find out
what terms the child uses to describe
her/his parents (Daddy & Pops, Mama
Jan & Mama Lisa?). Be sure that all
letters, forms, invitations uses language
that makes clear that these families are
welcome.
44. Migrant family. family that moves regularly to places where they have
employment. The most common form of migrant family is farm workers
who move with the crop seasons. Children may have a relatively stable
community of people who move at the same time - or the family may
know no one in each new setting. Military families may
also lead a migrant life, with frequent relocation, often on short notice.
45. Single parent family. This can be either a father or a mother
who is singly responsible for the raising of a child. The child can
be by birth or adoption. They may be a single parent by choice
or by life circumstances. The other parent may have been part
of the family at one time or not at all.
46. The Family Life Cycle
Like the stages that an individual goes through in life, the
family also goes through a series of developmental stages
over time. This is described as the family life cycle.
It is a conceptual tool for understanding family development
53. The Family before
Industrialization
Pre-Industrial Families 1600-1800 had large numbers of
children. Family life in the pre-industrial period was
characterized by the dominance of a family-based
economy.
All family members worked at productive tasks
differentiated by sex and age. No sharp distinction was
made between family and society. In addition to its
economic task of providing employment, the family
performed many functions such as heath-care, education,
welfare etc.
54.
55. Family Structure and Household Composition
This consisted of male head of the family, his
wife and children, his aging parents (who will have
passed on the farm).
Together they worked as a productive unit
producing the things needed to sustain the family‟s
survival. The key point is the kin relationship
during this period is one of binding obligations.
The obligation of carrying on working on the farm
for the family‟s survival.
56. Wives and Husbands
In the early colonial period, marriages were
arranged based on the social and economic
purposes of larger kin groups.
Romantic love was not wholly absent, but
marriage was more of a contractual agreement
based upon a specific and sharp gender-based
division of labour.
A shortage of women in this period
enhanced the status of women, but despite this,
wives were unquestionably subordinate to their
husbands.
57. Children
Families of the premodern period reared
large numbers of children, but household size was
not very large because childbearing extended over
a long span of years.
Children‟s religious training was intensive
and discipline severe. Childhood was recognized
as a separate stage of development, and children,
like spouses, were viewed in economic terms.
Social class and regional differences,
however, are responsible for some variation in the
lives of children.
58. Societies without
Nuclear Families
Nayar in Southwestern India lacked marriage and the
nuclear family. A woman would have several sexual
partners during her lifetime, but any man with whom she
had children had no responsibilities toward them.
Despite the absence of a father, this type of family
arrangement seems to have worked well for the Nayar
(Fuller, 1976).
59. Nuclear families are also mostly absent
among many people in the West Indies.
When a woman and man have a child, the
mother takes care of the child almost
entirely; the father provides for the
household but usually lives elsewhere. As
with the Nayar, this fatherless
arrangement seems to have worked well
in the parts of the West Indies where it is
practiced (Smith, 1996).
60. A more contemporary setting in which the
nuclear family is largely absent is the
Israeli kibbutz, a cooperative agricultural
community where all property is
collectively owned.
In the early years of the kibbutzim (plural
of kibbutz), married couples worked for the
whole kibbutz and not just for themselves.
Kibbutz members would eat together and
not as separate families.
61. Children lived in dormitories from infancy on and
were raised by nurses and teachers, although
they were able to spend a fair amount of time
with their birth parents.
The children in a particular kibbutz grew up
thinking of each other as siblings and thus
tended to fall in love with people from outside
the kibbutz (Garber-Talmon, 1972).
62. Although the traditional family has
assumed more importance in kibbutz life in
recent years, extended families continue
to be very important, with different
generations of a particular family having
daily contact (Lavee, Katz, & Ben-Dror,
2004).
63. The Family in the American-
Colonial Period
Moving quite a bit forward in history, different family types
abounded in the colonial period in what later became the
United States, and the nuclear family was by no means the
only type. Nomadic Native American groups had relatively
small nuclear families, while nonnomadic groups had larger
extended families; in either type of society, though, “a much
larger network of marital alliances and kin obligations
[meant that]…no single family was forced to go it alone”
(Coontz, 1995, p. 11).
64. Nuclear families among African Americans
slaves were very difficult to achieve, and
slaves adapted by developing extended
families, adopting orphans, and taking in
other people not related by blood or
marriage.
Many European parents of colonial
children died because average life
expectancy was only 45 years.
65. The one-third to one-half of children who
outlived at least one of their parents lived
in stepfamilies or with just their surviving
parent.
Mothers were so busy working the land
and doing other tasks that they devoted
relatively little time to child care, which
instead was entrusted to older children or
servants.
66. American Families During
and After Industrialization
During industrialization, people began to move into cities to
be near factories. A new division of labor emerged in many
families: men worked in factories and elsewhere outside
the home, while many women stayed at home to take care
of children and do housework, including the production of
clothing, bread, and other necessities, for which they were
paid nothing (Gottlieb, 1993).
67. For this reason, men‟s incomes increased
their patriarchal hold over their families. In
some families, however, women continued
to work outside the home.
Economic necessity dictated this: because
families now had to buy much of their food
and other products instead of producing
them themselves, the standard of living
actually declined for many families.
68. But even when women did work outside the
home, men out-earned them because of
discriminatory pay scales and brought more
money into the family, again reinforcing their
patriarchal hold.
Over time, moreover, work outside the home
came to be seen primarily as men‟s work, and
keeping house and raising children came to be
seen primarily as women‟s work.
69. This marital division of labor began to change
during the early 20th century. Many women
entered the workforce in the 1920s because of a
growing number of office jobs, and the Great
Depression of the 1930s led even more women
to work outside the home.
During the 1940s, a shortage of men in
shipyards, factories, and other workplaces
because of World War II led to a national call for
women to join the labor force to support the war
effort and the national economy.
70. They did so in large numbers, and many continued
to work after the war ended. But as men came home
from Europe and Japan, books, magazines, and
newspapers exhorted women to have babies, and
babies they did have: people got married at younger
ages and the birth rate soared, resulting in the now
famous baby boom generation.
Meanwhile, divorce rates dropped. The national
economy thrived as auto and other factory jobs
multiplied, and many families for the first time could
dream of owning their own homes.
71. Even so, less than 60% of American children
during the 1950s lived in breadwinner-
homemaker nuclear families. Moreover, many
lived in poverty, as the poverty rate then was
almost twice as high as it is today.
Teenage pregnancy rates were about twice as
high as today, even if most pregnant teens were
already married or decided to get married
because of the pregnancy.
