The Most Basic Function of a Family - Essay Example

Teaching and training isn’t the only motivation behind parenting. A family isn’t complete unless there is concern about children’s well being. They should be given proper attention as lack of attention and neglect can lead to psychological problems in a child. The United States of America is a developed country and has given strong economic support to families. But in the process of making a living, most of the parents are too busy to attend to their child’s needs. Children have certain needs which can only be fulfilled by their parents, especially mothers.

A child needs a mother’s breast milk during its early years. It needs the touch and warmth of the mother. But in the U.S. families are not able to provide even these basic things. There are alarming levels of divorces that often leave children in the custody of lone parents. Here the basic need for love and attention is compromised. Next in line comes economic security. In earlier traditions, the father’s property was automatically given to the children after some point in time. But complex family structures and divorces mean that children have to start working at a young age to achieve financial security.

It must be the above-mentioned features such as lack of love, attention and financial security which must have created doubts in the mind of sociologists about the correct definition of ‘family’ in current times.