The Importance Of Family Relationships

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,

What is a family? How are families shaped and what effect do they have on society? In the United States a family consists of both parents, one’s self, siblings (biological or adoptive) and extended family members; however, this is not the case around the world. The concept of family and who is family changes in each culture, but is mostly centered around who is kin and who a person marries. Family, kin, and marriage are established through how society decides their lineage, which establishes cultural rituals within the society.

The word family has changed so much in the past century. A family back in the 1950’s was probably considered a husband, wife, and one or more children. Times have changed and families have become much different. The Interpersonal Communication: Relating to Others book defines family as a, “Unit made up of any number of persons who live in relationship with one another over time in a common living space who are usually, but not always, united by marriage and kinship” (Beebe, Beebe & Redmond, 243). Families can be broken up into five different types. The first is the traditional family, which includes a mother, father, and their biological children. Next, is the blended family which includes

There are many different family dynamics in today’s society. But what really makes a family? Every definition found has defined family, in simple terms, as “A father and a mother raising their children together.” However, not every family is like that. Most families are not like that at all. Different aspects come into play in families such as divorce, death, and abandonment that can redefine the family structure, either for the better or for the worse. A family does not have to consist of the traditional sense of the nuclear family, but rather a family can consist of friends, step-siblings, step-parents, half siblings, or family members outside the immediate circle of parents and brothers and sisters. Anyone who can come together is a family;

Everyone has a heritage, where they came from, where they developed into who they are today. Your family stems from your heritage and definitely forms you into the person you become. Barbara Kingsolver goes into depth on the concept of family in her essay, “Stone Soup,”. Throughout this essay, Kingsolver specifies how despite some families have gone through broken places and had to overcomes struggles and had to restructure their life, they are still a family, regardless they are not the common “traditional family” that everyone expects to see. Kingsolver describes how each family is positioned into these “family of dolls” with specific roles for each member and then goes on to explain how the “traditional families” in society put these negative labels and break down “nontraditional families” simply because they are not the same.

Even though every person will get into many other relationships with people such as friends and lovers throughout their life, his/her family is the only relationship that came by nature. Family is something that no one can deny, because of the connection in blood and genes. Hassan, Liz and Eric define family as people who will always love each other and the sense of belonging as the feeling to be loved by their family in Lady C!” by Kwame Stephens, “A Sense of Loss” by Becky Birtha and “Blood, Thick, and Thin” by Eric C. Wat.

A family is seen as a group of people who are biologically or psychologically related. They connect on historical, emotional

There are many forms of families around the world. The structure of these families are influenced by the culture around them. Family is defined as "two or more people related by blood, marriage or adoption. The family may take many forms, ranging from a single parent with one or more children, to a married couple or polygamist spouses with or without offspring, to several generations of parents and their children” (226). There are many functions of the family unit around the world.

A family is the single most influential factor in the life of an individual. Being in a family brings with it support, relationships, connections, and love that is rarely found anywhere else in a person’s life. However, families are not all the same. Each individual family structure is unique when compared to the next. When looked at from a general perspective there are two main groups of which families fall into.

Family is typically seen as something that is defined by genetics and the idea that blood is what makes a family. This could not be less true. In today’s society family should not be defined by the blood that runs through your veins or your last name, it should be the amount of love that exudes from your heart. Whether you were born into a family, adopted or in the foster care system, your family members are the ones who you share moments of love and joy with, not just a last name.

A 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.” (Schaefer, 2009) A family is considered a social institution. This social institution is one that can be applied to all three sociological theories which are functionalism, conflict, and interactionism.

As someone who did not grow up with a typical family, I claim most of my close friends as “family” members. Every year we get together for birthdays, vacations and celebrate some holidays together. Some of my close friends are even closer than my actual family. One friend that I grew up with since the 7th grade is practically a brother to me, and even though I have and love my own mom, to this day I call his mother “mom” as well. I do believe that family is based on bonds and emotional ties, not just by blood and marriage. Our textbook defines “fictive kin as close relations with people we consider ‘like family’ but who are not related to us by blood or marriage (p.352)”. This sociological concept helps me realize that my own situation of who and what I consider family is more common than I may have thought before.

The word “family” is often used in connection with a person’s ancestry. Most families are based on kinship. Members belong to the family through birth, marriage, or adoption. Family plays the most vital role in our daily life and family is the finest thing that you can ever desire for. It’s the family who assists their child in hardships of life and give affection no matter what happens. Human personality reflects on what his /her family status is and what their families have taught them.

A family can be defined in many ways, but the common denominator in all is the love and fulfillment one gets by being surrounded by family members. Families can sometimes be at odds with each other, but the strain of this type of relationship usually creates an upsetting feeling to the people involved. People want others to rely on, talk to, do things with, share, love, embrace, and be part of. No matter what the family dynamic is the qualities the word family has will remain the same, as time goes by, and life evolves once again for every person living their

What is a family? What parts make up a family? These two questions are questions that millions of adults and children ask themselves regularly. When people think about a family in their head they think of a nuclear family. Where you have a Mom, Dad, and a few kids running around a home in the middle of a suburban wasteland. That is the nuclear family that I feel most modern families strive to be like. But factors can change within a family and still be a family. I do not believe that a family is strictly based off what people see from the front porch looking in. A family is about the everlasting bond that is formed between a group of people whether they are related by blood or by other means. A family is a group of people who stick together during hard times and good times, they laugh together and they cry together. They eat meals together, party together, are weaved together in life. They are like a strip of palm leaves, and when you weave a bunch of them together it makes a basket, that is a family. The people that someone can call at two in the morning on a Wednesday just because they can’t sleep. The ones who would sacrifice anything to help them. The bond can never be broken because the word “family” holds them together like glue to wallpaper.