Psychology

The family is considered as the basic unit of society. It is the place where the young are molded and taught the values and all intangible things in life. Basically,  a family consisted of a mother, a father and their kids . Such a family structure is called a nuclear family.

Nuclear family structure is not limited to biological parents and children as such in my case. I am an adopted child and my foster parents reared me as if I am their biological child. Family structure such as mine does not confine itself to consanguinity or affinity by blood. Other family  structures include grandparents and cousins to their hierarchy. Distant relatives like aunts and uncles also constitute other family structures. Cultural heritage and geographical location also plays a vital role in the composition of a family structure. There are also what we called matriarchal and patriarchal family structure, in which the majority of the family members are from the motherside and fatherside, respectively. There are also single parents bringing up their children alone which is an acceptable norm of todays family structure. At times a family chooses to include long distant relatives up to third degree of consanguinity or so. When such a family grows big in numbers, family structure should characterize close bonding and adherence to family values and tradition in order to be unified. Normally, the father is the head of the family and the mother assists her husband in maintaining family matters. Advices can also be heed from grandparents and other senior members of the family as needed. Family structure of any type has a common end goal, establish order and role for each members of the family.

There are a variety of family structures that exist in our modern society today. Each has its own unique and distinct  element but all summed up to help and mold the totality of a person. It is in the family where care , protection and love is first inculcated in the mind especially that of a child. We should never undermine the role of our family structure because somehow it is always a link to a much bigger structure and that is of our society. We must always remember that a strong inclination to our family ties and structure is always a foundation of a strong willed society and is imperative for the cultivation of our social growth and progress.