How can a simple six letter word be so complicated to define? Family is a single word that is open to many interpretations depending on the individual. If you try to condense this ideal to a single clinical definition you end up excluding numerous members of society. What comes to mind when you think of the word family? While in the most broken down and literal sense, family means a relative with a blood or legal bond, the word family can encompass blood relations, adoptions, and even intentional relationships such as friendships. Economies, cultures, and backgrounds can further differentiate what one’s perception of a family is. For many people, including me, a family is so much more. It is the amount of commitment, cohesiveness, and importance …show more content…
Other members of your biological family are considered extended. There are two main branches of immediate family; blood bonds and legal bonds. A relationship by blood can be determined by following family trees and ancestry. They would include but are not limited to, parents, grandparents, siblings, and children. It also includes extended family such as aunts and uncles. A legal relationship means there is no common DNA shared and is determined by a legal contract. Guardianships and adoptions are classified as legal relationships, as well as marriages uniting a new adult with a non-biological …show more content…
A stepfamily occurs when parent’s divorce and later remarry bringing children from the previous marriage together to form a new family. In the twenty-first century, a stepchild is considered part of the immediate familial household when the biological parent is detached from the child but the stepparent is available. This is one type of non-traditional family. While they may not be traditional they can be equally supportive and caring. Multigenerational families are a group of relatives that live together and share in the household chores. Many families are now opting to move senior parents into their own homes instead of a retirement community because the bonds that have been generated throughout life help the seniors state of mind. A complex family has three or more adults living in the same household plus their children. This can happen through divorce and remarriage and through polygamy in countries where polygamy is legal. Adults that for various reasons cannot have children bring a child into their home to love and care for or one parent can legally adopt the biological child of the other parent. This is considered an adopted family and while there may be no blood relation it still has legal viability. Fosterage is also a branch of adoption where a family will temporarily bring another child into their home until more permanent
Despite having the liberty of choosing who you want as a family, you cannot, however, run away from the fact that your primary family (blood-related) play the most significant role in your development. Whether you
In 2014 a little over 3 million children in the United States were under the guardianship of a relative other than their parent (Szilagyi, 2014). This agreement is referred to as kinship. Kinship care is defined as the care of children by relatives or close family friends, also known as fictive kin, after they have been removed from biological parents. Relatives are usually looked to as the primary resource of care support because they maintain the child's connections with the family and help to preserve the cultural values of the family. (ChildWelfare.gov) Kinship care is divided into three different categories: informal kinship care, voluntary kinship care, and formal kinship care (child welfare information gateway, 2016).
Stepfamilies give a new meaning to the concept of “complex family relationships” (Hildebrand, 255). For that reason, the interactions within this family unit can be complicated and uncomfortable. There are many changes, positive and/or negative, that stepfamilies try to adapt to. For instance, adults take on new parenting roles and children take on new roles as well, such as a new stepparent or sibling. Parents and/or children may be required to relocate into a completely different house in a completely new neighborhood or city, which leads to separation issues with their nuclear family.
In “When Branches Tangle in a Stepfamily Tree” (2012) Elissa Gootman talks about the life style and the relationship keeping for stepfamilies and members. In general, the stepfamily refers two adults stay in a same house either married or cohabiting with at least one child who is come from previous family (Ch 13, P410).
Family, defined by the Online Merriam Webster Dictionary is, “a group of related people including people who lived in the past.” I believed that the wording of this definition is important because of the word related. The Online Merriam Webster Dictionary defines related as “belonging to the same group because of shared characteristics, qualities, etc.” This goes to show that a family does not have to be lineage, heritage, or chromosomes. There are many different types of families, and though many people think of a nuclear family when they think of a family, there are so many more qualities to consider when deciding how to personally define family.
According to Skolnick & Skolnick, Family in Transition there are three ways to defined a family. The first definition is people related by blood, marriage, or adoption and lives together. The second definition is people who offer emotional support, and support in hard times. The third definition is people who are biologically related.
Family is a group of people like parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces, cousins, spouses, siblings in law, parents in law and children in law. Who are considered to be related in some way such as by blood, by common ancestry, by descent or by marriage. There are two types of families, the nuclear and the extended family.
Family, a group consisting of parents and children living together in a household. Although family is a concretely defined term, the idea of family varies from person to person. But, what makes a family? For those who are surrounded by loving blood relatives, for those who have never known the one to grant them life, for those who have left their blood behind for a more loving and nurturing environment, what can commonly define a family? Family is something defined by the individual. Family includes those who you have come to love, whether platonically or romantically, those you have suffered with, those you have come to respect, and most importantly those you have cared for and in turn have cared for you. To one that could mean people who
"A family is a small social group of people related by ancestry or affection, who share common values and goals, who may live together in the same dwelling, and who may participate in the bearing and raising of children. They have a physical or emotional connection with each other that is ongoing" (Vissing, 2011) and is the foundation of all societies. They can be formed by a grouping of father-mother-children or even more complicated combination of relatives. In the primary stage of family life in the United States, everyone from every generation lived together in one house. Subsequently, the idea of traditional family evolved and a married couple with children is at present, often called the traditional family. There are many types of families; however, this paper will focus on the traditional family. It will describe how the functionalist perspective, conflict perspective, and the interactionism theory apply to the sociological institution known as a family. It will explain some of the similarities and differences between the sociological theories in regards to families and how they affect the family members.
As a child, family was very important to me. My parents made it very clear that the people in your family are the people that are going to be on your side for the rest of your life. My parents were young when they had me so they needed some extra help. Although they did everything in their power to make sure their work schedules were set so that somebody would always be at home to watch me, that just wasn 't always possible. When in doubt, my granny would always come through. I began to build a very strong bond with her being that she was one of my main care takers. Over the years my parents started to figure things out so they no longer needed grannies help. But this is not what I wanted. Instead of
Family structure can greatly impact the day-to-day activities of a family. A family with one parent may have a very different dynamic than one with two parents, or possibly even more parents. It is no surprise that these differences exist and families and that one’s family impacts their way of life. However, does it make a significant difference? Or is it simply a difference in how people react to their situations. That is what I wanted to learn from this assignment.
Everyone seems to define family differently, however, the significance of family is the same. For you, family means everything. You can always count on your parents and siblings for help and love. Family is very valuable and important to you and should never be taken for granted. No one can deny that family is the foundation of our generation. A family is where we all start our life journey and helps us grow to be successful throughout our lives.
The family is a societal institution which initiates the positive and negative process of social interactions between people. Over the last few decades what constitutes the family has changed all over the world. Family in today’s environment is diverse in nature and may go beyond the scope of parents and children. Families can consist of variations in relationships such as close relatives, stepparents, half siblings and extended non-biological family members. Normally, immediate family members live in the same house, nearby, until the child reaches a specified age and maturity to go into the world and start their own family. Most often members of the families have intimate and personal relationships with each other. Within the family there is a continuation of social interactions between members that can influence and shape peoples responses and reactions to their larger societies.
There are so many different types of family relationships. Whatever form a family takes; it is an important part of everyone’s life. My family has played an important role in my life. Good family relationships serve as a foundation to interactions with others. Supportive families will help children to thrive. The quality of the family relationship is more important than the size of the family. Making the relationships priority, communication, and providing support for one another is key to developing relationships. Family relationships are what make up our world today; they shape the ways that we see things and the ways that we do things.
I also believe that people do not have to be blood-related to be considered a family. If two or more people have a connection with one another where they can rely and depend on each other and have an emotional attachment, I also believe that to be considered family. Golics, Azam, Finlay, & Salek (2010), define family as a diverse group of people that care for each other on a day-to-day basis (p. 400). My mother and father are still married after 27 years. I am a child of three with two older brothers, both currently married with children.