What does family mean to you?

  Just as a little side note.  I will be writing several posts on this blog that tie in to this course I am taking called Family Relations. (FAML 160).   This course is a study of the family and it's interaction, relationship with the environment, family issues and also family roles.

What does family meant to you?  Family may be viewed differently from person to person.  I will tell you what family means to me. Family means EVERYTHING to me. I am so grateful for my family who have always been my constant companions. I grew up with a loving mother, and father and brothers who have always been my side, especially when I needed them the most.  My family have raised me to develop a sense of right and wrong and have always been great examples! They have taught me how to exceed and excel and do my very best!

Today, the world's view of family is constantly changing. In a class similar to this one called, Family and Community Relations, I was reading in my textbook and it said, "The classic (structural-functional) definition of a family, according to sociologist George Murdock, is ‘ a social group characterized by common residence, economic cooperation, and reproduction.  It includes adults of both sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially approved sexual relationship, and one or more children (biological or adopted) of the sexually cohabiting adults.’….  Today, relationships that do not conform to Murdock’s definition are more common than those that do…” (Berns, 2008, p 77)

How true that is.  The world's definition of family seems to be constantly changing! In FAML 160 this past week we have been learning about the different trends today that are associated with Family.  Some of those trends include, an increase of employed mothers, Household number is decreasing, cohabitation is increasing, living alone is increasing, people are marrying later and the population rate is declining.

I wouldn't trade the structure of my family, the roles that were played  and the Love that was felt in my family for anything else.  I hope to take after my parents example and have a family of my own someday.  

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