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CONCEPT OF FAMILY
A family is a group of people who are closely related by blood, marriage or adoption.
A family starts when a man and a woman are united by marriage. Some of the reasons for getting marriage are companionship and to get children.
TYPES OF FAMILY
There are three types of family, these are:
1: Nuclear family
Is a family which consists of a father, mother and their children
Advantages of nuclear family
1. It need fewer resources to sustain itself because of fewer members
2. It reduces the cost of living
3. It is manageable and controllable due to its small size
4. It is usually stable economically
5. Easy to enforce changes or make decision and arrive at a conclusion
6. There is clear distribution of authority within the family because it consists of two parents as heads of the family.
Disadvantages of the nuclear family
1. It may develop spirit of selfishness and discrimination
2. It may results the individualism
3. It is difficult for children to learn from other people
2: Extended family
Is the family which consists of father, mother, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousin and other relatives.
Advantages of extended family
1. It promote s unity and solidarity among relatives
2. It is easy to perform difficult/complex projects. E.g. large scale farming and pastoralist
3. Easy distribution of tasks since there are many people in a family
4. It involves more opinions from the different members of the family
5. It is a symbol of love and fraternity to people of a common culture, race and history.
Disadvantages of the extended family
1. Difficult to maintain as it needs many resources
2. It may also be a source of poverty
3. Difficult to decide matters concerning families
4. It may create laziness and a parasitic syndrome among the family members
3: Single parent family
Is the family consists of one parent and his/her children.
Single parent family(s) happens when one parent dies, when couples set divorced or one of the parent burn out of wedlock.
Advantages of single-parent family
1. Children will work harder in order to earn a living
2. Children will quickly learn the best way to earn a living since they are not well supported at home
Disadvantages of single parent family
1. A parent face a greater financial burden to maintain the family
2. It may lead to the problem of street children if the parent is unable to maintain them.
3. Children will miss fully parental care
4. Lack of access to education and a better life in general
5. Children will not have a role model if either a father or a mother is missing.
IMPORTANCE OF A FAMILY
1. It fosters cooperation in the society. Stable families are able to work together for national development
2. It transmits good social values from one generation to another
3. It bring children who will be honest, trust, worthy and responsible people in the society
4. The family is the unit through which children are taught the customs of their society
5. Families provide the children with opportunities to be hard workers
6. Good families act as role models in the society
8. By working together, families promote the development of individual members.
FAMILY STABILITY
A stable family is one in which peace; respect; love and good behavior are maintained.
Factors family stability
- This is a situation in which members of a family value each other
- Love
- Good behavior
- Peace
- Security
IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY STABILITY
Family stability is important not only to the family members, but also to the community as well as the nation.
1. Family member are able to fully participate in other social and economic activities
2. Family members are able to participate in communal activities, such as cleaning up markets and planting trees
3. Peace in the country is highly increased as it begins at the lowest level/ family.
4. Stable family helps to ensure that members are engaged in positive habits and activities.
5. Children from the stable families can be able to think about their future plans
RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF FAMILY MEMBERS
RIGHTS
In the family as a unit, parents have their rights and children also have their rights
Parents’ rights
1. Making family decisions
2. Guiding and advising their children
3. Being respected by their children
4. Teaching their children community values.
Children’s rights in the family
1. Expressing their opinions
2. Being treated equally without any kind of discrimination
3. Living with their parents
4. Rest and leisure
5. Getting basic and secondary needs like food, education and health care
6. To be protected from injury, abuse, economic exploitation and from other forms of harm.
RESPONSIBILITIES
These are duties that a person is obliged to fulfill
Parents responsibilities
1. Making important decisions
2. Providing security for the family
3. Ensuring discipline is maintained by their children
4. Providing family requirements e.g. food, clothes, shelters and education
5. Loving and taking care of their children
6. Counseling their children to be well behaved
Children responsibilities in the family
1. Helping parents with domestic tasks
2. Respecting parents and elders
3. Taking care of their younger brothers and sisters
4. Obeying their parents and teachers
5. Going to school to learn
CONSEQUENCES OF NOT CARRYING OUT RESPONSIBILITIES
The results of being irresponsible are:
1. Family instability
2. Conflicts
3. Family breakdown
4. Street children
5. Lack of basic needs
Family Life
COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE
A: COURTSHIP
Courtship is the period during which two people carefully study and get to know one another before they get married.
Courtship enables the two partners to understand each other and to know each other’s family members.
It is also an appropriate time for the preparation of a wedding.
IMPORTANCE OF COURTSHIP
1. A young gets an ample time to prepare for marriage
2. It facilitates behavior changes
3. Helps to evaluate their future life together
4. It is the starting point for establishing true love, respect and obedience of both
5. Enables partners to understand their strengths and weakness
6. It helps to establish stable and long life marriage
7. Courtship helps partners to prepare for a good marriage ceremony
8. Show evidence of maturity
B: MARRIAGE
Marriage is the permanent union between a man and a woman as husband and wife.
Or is the legal bond between man and woman.
CLASSIFICATION OF MARRIAGE
Marriage can classified into two classes
- Classification according to age for marriage
- Classification according to the number of wives to one husband
Classification of marriage according to age for marriage
Marriage at this category is classified into two main categories, namely: Early marriage and mature marriage.
1. EARLY MARRIAGE
Is any marriage of a person below the age of 18.
REASONS FOR EARLY MARRIAGE
i. Traditional initiation practices that promote girl girls to womanhood. Girls are taught how to take care of their marriage.
ii. Family poverty
iii. Payment of bride price (dowry). This is gift that is given to the bride or her parents by her future husband in consideration for marriage.
iv. Forced marriage in some societies
v. Some families marry off their young girls to friendly families in order to maintain the friendship between two families
vi. Lack of education. Some parents marry off their young daughters due to ignorance
vii. Conflicts in families
viii. Inheritance
PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH EARLY MARRIAGE
1. Complications during child delivery. Early marriages are one of the causes of maternal and infant deaths in the societies.
2. Prevention of young women from continuing with their education
3. It can result in divorce since a young woman or man is not mature enough to meet the challenges of marriage life
4. Increase of poverty. Most couples that get married at young age do not have reliable means of getting income.
5. Spread of HIV/AIDS
6. Breakdown of families. Very young men and women may lack enough experience, knowledge and tolerance. Therefore family problems occur.
PREVENTION OF EARLY MARRIAGES
1. Education
2. Government should enact strict laws against early marriages
3. Poverty alleviation. This will help in preventing the economic hardship which force poor parents to marry off their young girls in order to get bride price
4. Societies should refrain from cultural practices which encourage early marriage.
2. MATURE MARRIAGE
Is the marriage between couples who are over 18 years.
ADVANTAGES OF MATURE MARRIAGES
1. Wife is less at risk of complication during child birth because her productive organs are mature enough
2. Adult couples can think independently on matters like family planning and how to raise children.
3. It bring respect to couples as they can afford to provide the basic needs to support their family
4. They lead to a stable family that is able to tackle problems together.
DISADVANTAGES OF MATURE MARRIAGE
1. Delay in child bearing. Sometimes mothers have to nurse young children when they are much order
2. Since some of the couples stay for a long time without getting married, a couple can indulge in unsafe sexual practice.
FOUNDATION OF A STABLE MARRIAGE
1. Love between the couples
2. Peace and security
3. Respect and cooperation
4. Trust between the couples
5. Good relationship with other people outside marriage.
6. Economic wellbeing as a result of hard work
7. Responsibility and accountability whereby both the husband and wife are responsible for their duties in the marriage.
Classification of marriage according to the number of wives to one husband
1. Monogamy
One man to one wife. Common among Christian communities
2. Polygamy
Many wives to one husband. Common among Islamic communities
3. Bigamy
This is the crime of marrying somebody while you are still legally married to someone else
4. Polyandry
One woman too many husbands. Commonly practiced in India.
