The True Meaning of Family

No matter what background you come from or how you were raised, family is extremely important. According to Malinowski, “Family is a necessary institution for fulfilling the task of child rearing in society”(Conley, 2013). Society has come a long way when it comes to family and it is much different than it was in the 1950’s. Not all families are nuclear families. A nuclear family is having a mother, father, and children that are all biological (Conley, 2013). This kind of family is what some would call more “traditional.” Today in the twenty first century it is getting harder and harder to find families that have actually stayed together. There are so many different kinds of families in today’s society, and more and more families are becoming blended families. A blended family is when two families come together (Conley, 2013). Many families today have single mons, single, dads, and even same sex parents. Family is not always the people that live in the same house as you, family also consists of extended family. An extended family is a network that goes beyond the main “nuclear” family (Conley,

Language constantly evolves and changes as it is adopted by different cultures. Consequently, words have many definitions, connotations and origins. “Family” is a term that has changed over time; as a result the traditional definition of “family” is inadequate, and limited to describe the modern version of the term. Our society tends to attach itself to the “traditional conceptualization of family” better know as a “nuclear family” which includes a set of parents, and their biological offspring (Kompara). In America, known as a “melting pot” of all cultures and races, there are many implications for the word family thus there is no such thing as a traditional family. The traditional definition, which is limited parents and their children, can no longer be used to describe an American family because of our diverse and changing familial structures.

Family. It is a very fluid yet rigid idea. It has a wealth of definitions, all of which range in degree and magnitude, and vary from person to person; yet the concept of how a family should work and operate is very concrete in most American minds. Family is a bond that is crafted every second of everyday until it is powerful, and this can shape beliefs, outlooks, and confidence. A study found that children with father figures that are highly involved benefit because an immense range of emotions are modelled to them as children, and consequently they will be more adapt at recognizing and expressing their own emotions. In contrast children

There are many different types of ways to define a family. Many people think that family is considered to be someone who is related to you, but it can be a person or group of people who has always been there for you, who has helped you, who will care for you, and who has made you a better person. Family consists of a group of people who care and look out for each other.

Families are changing in various ways. In the articles “What is a Family?”, “Absent Fathers: Why Don’t We Ever Talk About Unmarried Men?”, “Cohabitation Instead of Marriage”, “Ballad of a Single Mother” and “Children of Gay Fathers”, they all share and show different ways families are like worldwide today. They speak about how they feel about there relationships with there family and children and who they are as a person. The new American family unit brings with it many struggles that have now become common components within the fabric of modern-day America.

Family comes in all shapes and sizes; color, similarities and differences, but at the heart of it all, family is the solidified foundation to one belonging and feeling loved.

When I hear the word family, I think of love, togetherness and union. Family is defined as a social unit consisting of parents and their children. A family can also consist of individuals who reside together who are related by birth, blood, marriage or adoption. Today the family is extended and can include various There are many different types of family structures within the American culture. All of these family types range from single parent households, to adoptive or foster care families. Over the past 50 years, America has experienced some transformation which changed the "traditional" American family. Adoption, blended families,

Secondly, for those who come from a single-parent family, family means, “a social unit consisting of one or more adults together with the children they care for”. Typically, when someone thinks of family, they think Mom, Dad, brother, and or sister. Everyone has a different definition of family. An example being a family may mean always sticking together or never leaving anyone behind. Growing up, family was always a group of individuals who loved, cared, and supported you, whether they were blood related or not.

In sociological terms there are many definitions of family. In the modern world however we are bombarded with images of the ideal construct of the family three advertising and other media. This ideal construct depicts The nuclear family consisting of a mother and a father and several children. Advertising shows us that this ideal construct is one of domestic bliss and fulfilling lives. These lives are enhanced by superior cleaning agents, excellent cars and nurturing home environments for the children. Occasionally the media depicts grandparents and other relatives "popping in" to help out the nuclear family.

Family is a word with diverse meaning. The Oxford Dictionary defines it as ” A group of people consisting of two parents and their children living together as a unit.” This definition is known to be the most common stereotype in North America. “ This definition doesn 't comply with other cultures”, for example, the African concept of family states that “ Family is considered a basic cell of society. All social and cultural practices find their connection with a notion of family, either supporting or distorting it”. This definition relate more so to how Fedorak explains family on pg 106. Family is a big part of what defines how close knit a community is, jutted based on how different the definitions are we can how much closer African families are then North American families . In Canada, our society is changing. We are transitioning to a new style of living which is isolating family tradition and practice. I (A child who grew up in Canada) have grown up with two parents and two siblings. I have noticed stereotypes in my community that encourage young adults like myself to become an adult, marry and have children following in the footsteps of my father and his fathers before him. This is the driving factor as to why families in the past were so simple. I’m going to give you a perspective on how families in North America are moving away from what is known as “Nuclear Families” and into what is known as modern.

Also, the “bond” between mother, father, and child in a normal nuclear family, is very strong, this in turn has made a blue print of an entire adult life on the child.

The word “family” is unique, special, and controversial among different cultures and ethnicities. As defined by Random House Western Dictionary, a family is “any group of persons closely related by blood, as parents, children, uncles, aunts, and cousins” (Dictionary.com). Although the definition from Random House follows the infamous proverb of, “blood is thicker than water,” my definition of family does not. Family is not defined or restricted by blood relations. In my mind, a family is simply a group of people, who loves, supports, and helps each other unconditionally, and endlessly. Regardless of one’s sexual orientation or preference, all families embody these common principles. Thus, a family unites its members through the strong

The definition of family to society is; all the descendants of a common ancestor, however that definition is wrong in my opinion. Family means a special bond or connection between a person. You can be yourself and can trust them with all your heart and soul and never challenge or question their loyalty.

For most of us, the family is considered as a well-known and comfortable institution. The perfect model of the ‘ideal’ family is still mostly considered to be consisted from two different sexes’ parents, and one or more children. Until quite recently, the sociology of the family was mostly functionalist and just in the last few decades has been challenged from various directions.

A family is a group of two or more people that are related by blood, marriage (registered), adoption, step or fostering, and who usually live together in the same household. This includes newly-weds without children, gay partners, couples with dependants, single mums or dads with children, siblings living together, and many other variations (What is a family, 2013). A family consists of many variables that work together to form a system. The main functions of a family are to ensure that children are satisfactorily socialised into norms and values, to provide economics support for other family members, to satisfy the emotional love and security in a family and to provide a sense of place and position in the society.