What Makes a Family Functional or Dysfunctional - Essay Example

The main purpose of a family is to guarantee the social and physical continuity of humans through production and reproduction. Indeed, the family offers a better platform to share materials, intimacy, morals, and ensure passage of traditions from one generation to another. More so, a family is a source of unity that by extension promotes national unity. The family equally satisfies the needs of different individuals like education for children. Additionally, the family fosters the establishment of an economically productive household.

On the other hand, Christians and other religions believe that God sought to have Godly homes that honor God from a family. The family equally plays the role of laying the foundation for the society, nourishing, and perpetuating life. Nevertheless, a family can only achieve this by nurturing, educating, and training the children. The family also acts as a source of mutual emotional support to the troubled members. Indeed, the family guarantees the survival of various family members as it provides protection and necessary advice to its members.

Most significantly, it offers an enabling environment for the emotional, physical, and social growth of its members (Hill Web). Nevertheless, various adverse factors hinder the family from achieving all its functions. For a family to remain functional, it must have a respectable head be it a man or a woman. In the modern world, this is a shared role assumed by the man and the woman, or siblings. More so, a functional family must absorb the principles of mutual respect, community participation, ethical behavior, traditions, and code of conduct as set out by the head of the family.

Virtues like respect, honesty, hard work, and commitment to the norms of the family promote the functionality of a family. In addition, a functional family adopts a good and respectable communication channel for purposes of solving disputes in the family. It will indeed encourage dialog between all the concerned parties, enhance honest deliberations, and respect one’s opinion and feelings. Similarly, a functional family must manifest the will to participate in efforts of solving disputes between different family members.

Furthermore, a functional family works together, has a resilient foundation, is very flexible in making decisions, its members are accountable, accords individual privacy, abhors consistent respect to all (Peterson Web).