1.

Family

A family is a social unit or group, first and foremost there is a nuclear family, consisting of the
mother, father and a child (in this case they’re an only child) or the children (son, daughter,
sister, brother or twins). In modern families, the parents are monogamous, the nuclear
family usually lives together, in one household and they share the same goals and values.
It’s not uncommon for some members of the extended family to also live together with the
nuclear family, for example if a grandparent has become a widow or widower or if an uncle
or an aunt hasn’t managed to find a job or a place to live yet.
Extended family includes other relatives, like grandparents (grandmother, grandfather),
uncles, aunts (who are the siblings of the parents) and cousins (children of the uncles and
aunts) and nephews or nieces. There are also the relatives called the in-laws, who are
relatives because of marriage, for example the mother of the husband’s wife is the
husband’s mother-in-law, her sister is the husband’s sister-in-law and so on, or the husband
is the son-in-law, if we look at it from the other point of view.
Many people say that family or even more importantly having a loving and supporting family
is the most important thing in the world. As I’m getting older and more mature I’m finding
this to be more and more true. I’m fortunate enough to say that I have an amazing family,
they are the true stability, help and guidance in my life. My parents provide me with
everything I need, whether it be support or help in something difficult, something I couldn’t
do alone or even emotional support in times of hardship, they’re the ones I can always count
on. Communication, talking to each other about feelings, boundaries and problems is the
basis of every good relationship and it’s the same with family. A functional family is one
where everyone can talk freely and they can feel like they’ve been heard. Basic human
needs like love, protection and support should be fulfilled in every family for everyone. The
financial stability a family provides is also an important factor. Income can determine the
quality of life in many ways: housing, food, comfort, healthcare and even education. My
father works as a car salesman, my mother as a teacher, so thankfully I was always protected
financially. I’m also an only child, which means I never had to share my space or my property
with anyone, which is good for me, but can also be disadvantageous psychologically in some
relationships. Education is also one of the main duties of parents, parents raise their
children, they teach them the first and most important things, like how to walk, talk, solve
problems, keep promises, differentiate between right and wrong and so on. This is a very
important phase in life, because this is when kids learn how to fit into society and how to be
good people. Socialization is very important from young age. Social events in families often
happen with birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, gradutation, sometimes funerals. These
occasions are important to build relationships inside the family and strengthen the bonds we
have with our family.
Different parents have different ideas about raising children, they can be democratic and talk
about everything respectfully with their children or authoritarian, setting strict rules and not
really giving freedom to their kids. The opposite of this are the over-caring parents, who give
too much love, which can also result in a negative way. I think finding a compromise and
being democratic is always the best choice. I learned this after realizing that both being too
strict and too loving can lead to a big generation gap and a lack of understanding between
the parents and their children. For example, a democratical way to go is to give a child some
responsibilities, like some domestic chores, like shopping, mowing the lawn and taking out
the trash and after that they get free time. It’s important that these duties are divided
democratically between the family members, so that everyone can do what they’re
comfortable with.
Usually, couples get married in their 20s or 30s, when they’ve been living together for a
while, they are planning to have children or maybe already do have them. Usually the man
proposes with a ring and if the fiancée says yes, then they are engaged. Depending on
culture and religion, the man sometimes has to ask for the father-in-law’s permission and
the couple can choose if they want the wedding to be held in the town hall or the church.
Families can have many types, as I mentioned beofre, there can be cross-generational
families, where an older person also lives with the children. Furthermore, there can be
blended families, where one parent has kids from previous relationships in the family. We
call them stepsiblings and stepparents in this case. Because sometimes (new research shows
that one in three or somewhere even every second) married couples get divorced. Main
reasons for this are lack of understing, trust, patience, fights between the couple, financial
problems, sometimes even addictions. Therefore, single parent families also exist, where
one parent abandoned the family, is deceased or they got divorced. In some countries,
same-sex parents can also adopt and raise children and function as a family, about which
there has been lots of debates from an ethical and a biological point of view also. In my
opinion, ethically there shouldn’t be any problems with same-sex parents raising children,
however, the research is still ongoing about whether it positively impacts the child mentally
or not. Even so, I think it would be a great opportunity for gay couples if they could adopt
and help an orphaned or abandoned child have a better life. Not everyone is lucky enough to
be born into a loving, healthy family, many children end up on the street or orphanages,
therefore, it’s very important that there are foster families who are ready to provide them
the care they need. Because having a family often isn’t about being related by blood, but the
love and care they provide and the feeling of belonging somewhere.