Change in the family structure and familial relation in india

This article is about the group of people such as a mother and a father. For the family in biology, see Family (biology). For other uses, see Family (disambiguation). A group portrait of a mother, son and daughter on glass, Roman Empire, c. 250 AD Part of a series on

In human context, a family (from Latin: familia) is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity (by recognized birth), affinity (by marriage), or co-residence/shared consumption (see Nurture kinship). Christopher Harris notes that the western conception of family is ambiguous, and confused with the household, as revealed in the different contexts in which the word is used:

“We have seen that people can refer to their relatives as ‘the family.’ ‘All the family turned up for the funeral…. But of course, my brother didn’t bring his family along – they’re much too young.’ Here the reference is to the offspring (as distinct from ‘all’ the family). The neighbors were very good, too. ‘The Jones came, and their two children. It was nice, the whole family turning up like that.’ Here the usage is more restricted than ‘relatives’ or ‘his relatives,’ but includes just both parents and offspring. ‘Of course, the children will be leaving home soon. It’s always sad to see the family break up like that.’ Here the reference is not only to parents and children but to their co-residence, that is, to the household.”[1]

Olivia Harris states this confusion is not accidental, but indicative of the familial ideology of capitalist, western countries that pass social legislation that insists members of a nuclear family should live together, and that those not so related should not live together; despite the ideological and legal pressures, a large percentage of families do not conform to the ideal nuclear family type.[2]

In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children. As a unit of socialization the family is the object of analysis for anthropologists and sociologists of the family. Sexual relations among the members are regulated by rules concerning incest such as the incest taboo.

As the basic unit for raising children, Anthropologists most generally classify family organization as matrifocal (a mother and her children); conjugal (a husband, his wife, and children; also called nuclear family); avuncular (a brother, his sister, and her children); or extended family in which parents and children co-reside with other members of one parent’s family.

Genealogy is a field which aims to trace family lineages through history.

“Family” is used metaphorically to create more inclusive categories such as community, nationhood, global village and humanism.

Family is also an important economic unit studied in family economics. Contents

1 The social reproduction of the family
2 Family types
2.1 Conjugal (nuclear) family
2.2 Matrifocal family
2.3 Extended family
2.4 Blended family
3 Kinship terminology
4 Family roles
5 History of theories of the family
5.1 Social Darwinists
5.2 The nuclear family in industrial society
5.3 The postmodern family
5.4 Oedipal family model and fascism
6 Size
7 See also
8 Notes
9 References
10 Further reading
11 External links

The social reproduction of the family

One of the primary functions of the family is to produce and reproduce persons, biologically and/or socially. This can occur through the sharing of material substances (such as food); the giving and receiving of care and nurture (nurture kinship); jural rights and obligations; and moral and sentimental ties.[3][4] Thus, one’s experience of one’s family shifts over time. From the perspective of children, the family is a “family of orientation”: the family serves to locate children socially and plays a major role in their enculturation and socialization.[5] From the point of view of the parent(s), the family is a “family of procreation,” the goal of which is to produce and enculturate and socialize children.[6] However, producing children is not the only function of the family; in societies with a sexual division of labor, marriage, and the resulting relationship between two people, it is necessary for the formation of an economically productive household.[7][8][9] Family types

The diverse data coming from ethnography, history, law and social statistics, establish that the human family is an institution and not a biological fact founded on the natural relationship of consanguinity.[10][11] The different types of families occur in a wide variety of settings, and their specific functions and meanings depend largely on their relationship to other social institutions. Although the concept of consanguinity originally referred to relations by “blood,” cultural anthropologists have argued that one must understand the idea of “blood” metaphorically and that many societies understand family through other concepts rather than through genetic distance.[3] Sociologists have a special interest in the function and status of these forms in stratified (especially capitalist) societies.

According to the work of scholars Max Weber, Alan Macfarlane, Steven Ozment, Jack Goody and Peter Laslett, the huge transformation that led to modern marriage in Western democracies was “fueled by the religio-cultural value system provided by elements of Judaism, early Christianity, Roman Catholic canon law and the Protestant Reformation”.[12]

Much sociological, historical and anthropological research dedicates itself to the understanding of this variation, and of changes in the family that form over time. Times have changed; it is more acceptable and encouraged for mothers to work and fathers to spend more time at home with the children. The way roles are balanced between the parents will help children grow and learn valuable life lessons. There is great importance of communication and equality in families, in order to avoid role strain. [13]