Family and Child rearing

Dr Barnali Biswas

Date : 4/3/2021

Types of Families

 Nuclear Family
 Joint Family
 Extended Family

Nuclear Family:
• Most Predominant recent phenomena mostly in industrialist,
urban societies.

• Universal social phenomenon. Everywhere the husband, wife

and children constitute unit of nuclear family.

• The solidarity of independent nuclear family is greater where it

includes children grows up the bonds tend to weaker due to
influence of peers, as well as social and geographical mobility.

• 4 major functions – sexual, economic, reproductive, educational

(G.P.Murdock 1949)

• Every adult in human society belongs t0 at least 2 nuclear

families:

• Family of Orientation: in which he/she was born and reared that

includes father, mother, brother, sisters.
 • Family of Procreation:

• He/she establishes by marriage that includes husband, wife, son

and daughters.

Characteristic of Nuclear family

● Nuclear family is not same everywere, it is highly variable.

● Kingsley Davis listed some of the major variables…no of spouses,

authority, strength of bond, choice of spouse, residence, parent
child relation, sibling relations.

● NF are relatively independent….

● Due to growth of individualism, reflected in property, law, and

general social ideals of individual happiness, self fulfilment,
geographical, and social mobility.

● In modern industrial societies, co-operative labour by family

members is a significant feature

Joint Family
● Family existed since the earliest times in India

● M.N. Srnivas: JF among the coorgs of South India, Khsatriyas.

● Okka (patrilineal and Patrilocal JF

● Members live together from birth till death, bound by strong

ties, co-operatrive in performing tasks,

● Coorgs and Okkas are very much stronger institution than the
joint familty of the higher castes of South India.
 ● Recent times importance of Joint Family Reduced

● Economic changes have an important influence especially

diversification of employment and fostering of an individualistic
life

● Changes in the law of property

● The Hindu Succession Act 1956 is a further step of establishing

individual property rights.

Extended Family
● Different types of Extended Family still common in Asia, in
Japan.

● Consists of two or more nuclear families, affiliated through an

extension of parent child relationship.

● a family group with a close relationship among the members

that includes not only parents and children but also
grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc

● वह परिवार या सामाजिक समह

ू जिसके सदस्य आपस में रक्त संबध
ं ों से
जड़
ु े होते हैं; इसमें न सिर्फ़ माता-पिता और उनके बच्चे बलकि दादा-दादी,
नाना-नानी, चाचा-चाची आदि भी सम्मिलित होते हैं; विस्तत
ृ परिवार

An extended family is a family that extends beyond the

nuclear family, consisting of parents like father, mother, and their
children, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins, all living in the
same household. Particular forms include the stem and joint families.
Extended family, an expansion of the nuclear family (parents and
dependent children), usually built around a unilineal descent group

● The extended family is the most common type of family in

the world. Extended families include at least three generations:
grandparents, married offspring, and grandchildren. Joint
family: Joint families are composed of sets of siblings, theirs
spouses, and their dependent children.

● The joint family system is an extended family arrangement

prevalent throughout the Indian subcontinent.

● Joint family, family in which members of a

unilineal descent group (a group in which descent through either
the female or the male line is emphasized) live together with
their spouses and offspring in one homestead and under the
authority of one of the members. The joint family is an
extension of the nuclear family (parents and dependent
children), and it typically grows when children of one sex do not
leave their parents’ home at marriage but bring their spouses to
live with them. Thus, a patrilineal joint family might consist of an
older man and his wife, his sons and unmarried daughters, his
sons’ wives and children, and so forth.

Problems of Modern families:

● With increasing economic development, industrialisation, lot of
problems are cropping up in front of modern families.

● Rise of divorce
 ● Problems of istability (family formation as well as family
dissolution

● Erosion of authority of the head of the family: before head of

the family was ultimate decision maker on basis of age also

● Now head is on basis of earning capabilities …who earn more is

dictator.

● Development of Alternative institutions: Many alternative

institutions developed in the society outside family that play
vital role: Day care centre for working couples…who spent whole
day at work place, rich families keep Aya for child care.

● Decline in the size of family.

● Joint family dissolving, ( family thinks for each other, support,

sympathy affection, declining)

● rise in individualism (increasing tension, seperatism between

siblings, distance increasing, kinship bond weakening,
weakening instituion of universality of marriage as an
institution.

What is Child Rearing?

● Child rearing is the process of raising and educating a child from
birth until adulthood.

● Usually done by bological parents of the child

● Role of government and society, community, social institutions.

 ● In case of orphaned and abandoned children receive parental
care from non parent blood relations, others may be adopted,
raised in an orphanage.

Parents provide the basic necessities of child

I Provides physical security: refers to safety of a child’s life

2) Providing physical development: providing appropriate conditions

for a healthy growth of a child

3) Providing intellectual security: providing conditions in which a

child’s mind can develop, child’s dignity is maintained

4)Providing emotional security: help protect child’s fragile psyche.

Provide a safe loving environment.

5) Providing emotional development: giving child an opportunity to

love other people, to care and to help

● Financial support: Money is the basis of finanacial support.

Child rearing:

● It is the process of upbringing or raising a child, educating,

imparting skills, and cultural values to the child after his/her
birth.

● Child rearing is done by parents, rearing of child is important for

overall development of the child and its personality

● It is important that the child is provided the right kind of

atmosphere and also a good raport is maintained between the
child and the parents. It is significant for the child development
 that how is the communication link between the child and the
parent

● How much quality time being spend with the child. It is

important that child gets a warm loving, caring atmosphere and
the parent is always there to guide and support the child
whenever in need

● It should be taken care that the child never gets neglected and
that the parent understand the child in different situations.

● Parents provide basic necessities, children’s rights within home

environment

● Dr Benjamin in his book : Baby and Child Care”: treat child with
respect and dignity.

4 types of child rearing:

Authoritative Child Rearing
• One of the best and suitable way of child rearing

• Child is provided a very warm, caring, sensitive environment

• Parents are emotionally well attached to the child, fulfills on their needs
and tries to understand their problems

• It involves high acceptance and involvement and adaptive control

acceptance

• The child enjoys in the company of the parent but at the same time the
parents exercise firm, reasonable control of the child’s behaviour.
• The parents maintains a proper disciplinary system and they insist on
appropriate maturity and also try to impart in their children proper moral
values.

• Authoritative parents keep an eye about the activities of their child and
monitor them and promotes self regulation in the child.

• They motivate the child to take decision on their own in some situations.
And hence they allow their child to put forward their ideas, views and their
perspective freely in front of them.

• While in case the parent and child disagrees the parent also engage in the
joint decisions hearing everyone's perspectives and trying to solve them.

• When the child gets to speak freely they also develop a quality to listen to
their perspectives of their parents also and to reflect upon it.

• Authoritative parenting makes the childhood stronger and thus leading to a

balanced adolescent period. This include self control , task persistence and

• co-operativeness during school years and in older age self esteem,

responsiveness to parents views, social and moral authority and also the
child performs good in academics and in extra curricular activities.

Autoritarian child rearing

● Parent Least involved with the child

● There is large communication gap and also try to control every behavior of the child.

● The parent always orders the child and pressurize the child to do whatever is said and
is never allowed to put forward his ideas and views. They are always forced to do
whatever parent says.

● Autoritarian type of parents always demotivate the child for even small mistake, yells
and degrade child, rejecting them

● They always criticizes the child and never given a chance to take part in any decision.
● If the child is forced to do something and disobeys the parent, then the child is treated
badly

● So this develops a feeling of hatred and feeling of low self esteem in the child.

Permissive Child Rearing

● This type of child rearing involves warm, caring of the child

● Child do not have a good communication link with the parent.

● This kind of parent are over indulgent or unattentive own

● The child is forced to make decision of their own at a very early age when
they are not capable to do so.

● The child becomes careless

● The parents are least concerned about the child’s behaviour, which
provides the child extra freedom, more than what is needed. It also
decreases discipline in activities.

● These kind of children do not perform very well in their studies and
display more anti social behaviour.

● These children believe that they are free to do anything and whatever
they do is correct in every aspect.

Uninvolved Child Rearing

● This type of child rearing is worst for the child development.

● In this case, the parents are least involved with the children and very low
acceptance and involvement with child.

● The parents have little control over the child’s behaviour.

● The parents are themselves so involved in their problems and stress of

their lives such that they are very much detached from the child.
● They never have the time to spend with the child. The child have no
emotional link with the parents

● Therefore the child feels neglected as they feels that the parents are
never interested in listening to their problems and perspectives.

● Child reared in this way is univolved, really develop low self esteem and
control and fails to form any strong emotional link with anyone.

● Also their activities involve anti social behavior and also does not do well
in academics

Home Assignment 2: 10 Marks

Child rearing project:

• Interview (telephonic)10 FAMILIES in the neighbourhood (Rural or Urban

areas) Nobody will visit any family personally to do this project, don’t talk
to unknown persons or families for safety. Focus on only data collection.

• Families should have both working couples or single working couples

• Families should have children from 6 years to 18 years.

Make interview schedule…….

 Ask head of household or parents

 Questions to be developed on the basis of theoretical perspective of the

types of child rearing

Aspects to be covered in the interview:

 working status of parents, type and nature of family,

 Educational status of parents and children, Health status
 Economic status of the family (income and assets)
 Decision making status, Role of family members, grandparents,
relatives in child rearing,
 Academic performances, Nature of child, parents’ Aspiration on
child
 Time spend by parents, pocket money, punishment
 Problems faced and challenges
 Relate to Experiences in pandemic situation (socio-economic,
schooling and education etc)