FAMILY UNIT. FUNCTION, SHAPE AND IT'S PRESENT ROLE IN SOCIETY - Essay Example

In other words the size of the family was larger earlier whereas at present it becomes lesser and lesser. Nuclear families and single parent families are gaining popularity at present because of the changing perceptions about life philosophies. Family relationships were stronger earlier; but these relationships are getting weaker and weaker as the time passes. People became more selfish and current generation sees fewer roles of family in their social life. This paper briefly analyses the function, shape and role of family in the present society.

Most of the current families consist of only the parents and their children. The concept of larger families has given way for nuclear families. In a larger family the commitments of the family members would be more compared to that of the members of a nuclear family. The concepts of nuclear family evolved because of the changing trends in social life. People started to migrate to distant places in search of better opportunities and settled there. Thus, their contacts with family members started to decrease which resulted in feeble relationships with the family members. Pearl S. Buck criticized current system of family on part of emotional security aspects.

He said "The lack of emotional security of our American young people is due, I believe, to their isolation from the larger family unit. No two people - no mere father and mother - as I have often said, are enough to provide emotional security for a child. He needs to feel himself one in a world of kinfolk, persons of variety in age and temperament, and yet allied to himself by an indissoluble bond which he cannot break if he could, for nature has welded him into it before he was born (Jay) In a larger family, people get more support from others in solving their problems.

For example, in larger family consisting of grandparents, children will get immense benefits from the advices of their grandparents. Grandparents have already faced many of the challenging life situations and they can streamline the junior members in the family in the right tract when problems occur. The nuclear family members may not get the services of the grandparents. “Being a daughter implies that there is a mother or father. A daughter or son reasonably expects physical care and emotional support to a certain age, and parents might expect increasing domestic responsibility and self-direction with their child's physical maturation” (Family Roles - Role Expectations And Demands).

The above concept was a traditional one as far as a family is concerned. However, current families are not much bothered about such concepts. It is not necessary that a daughter or son may get the support of both the father and mother in their family at present. Single parent families are more common everywhere at present. The increased divorce rate prevents children from enjoying the support of both father and mother nowadays. The current generation is too much focused on their profession and they are giving less importance to family needs.

For example, lots of working women leave their infants in day care centers before entering their office. These infants are deprived from getting the much needed care and love for their emotional developments. Such children develop fewer relationships with their parents and in future they may create lot of problems in the family. They will never obey their parents and do things as they like. It is quite possible that children who failed to get adequate