Blended Family Values

Families can be regarded as the foundation of society. For Fleetwood (2012: 1), the importance of families is highlighted by the fact that it would be difficult to comprehend a society that could function without them. In addition, even though families and their compositions vary across societies and cultures, the family can be viewed as a universal social institution (Macionis & Plummer, 2012: 625. Specifically, according to Macionis and Plummer (2012: 625) and Neale (2000:1), it has the ability to unite individuals into cooperative groups via social bonds (kinship) and is ultimately experienced differently from individual to individual. However, the family can be a source of conflict, tension and inequality, which is why one of the key practices

Barbara Kingsolver, author of the essay “Stone Soup”, says that only an average stable family with two parents is the environment for children to group up in and “turn out” normal. Throughout her writing she constantly criticizes homosexual parents, blended families,divorced families and single parents. Kingsolver believes that the average family reflects strong values, community, and a stable environment for children to grow up in, is the best option for them to model their lives after. However, many people would disagree with Kingsolver’s statement, as many modern families in the present era are not part of the so called “doll house family”. English author and playwright Maggie Kennedy said, “In truth a family is what you make it.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, family was the foundation and core of society in America (Hussung). During this period of time, the wife was in charge of raising the children and cleaning the house, while the husband worked and provided protection for the family. A strong family unit was something highly regarded and looked upon in society.

The love of a family is life’s greatest blessing. In life, there is a universal desire for oneness among people—we want to belong. It is why we collaborate, support common causes, cheer for sports teams, feel nationalism; it’s why we build villages, towns, and cities. Families are where we connect ourselves in relationships to past, current, and future generations. For many, family is not only a blessing, but our greatest accomplishment.

Families have many different ways they could be defined. I would describe my family as being blended. My brother has a different father than me, and he is still considered family. This aspect is important in my concept of family because even if I do not talk to them everyday, I still have this connection where they will support the decisions that I want to make even if it is not an opinion that everyone agrees with. On the contrary, there is definitely diversity by having a blended family, especially since they have been a part of most of my life.

Family members may or may not be biologically related, share the same household, or be legally recognized” (Raney, 2015:6). In the series Modern family, it shows the dynamics of a 21st century family and how traditions and culture has evolved over the years. As opposed to “nuclear family” “No longer does the traditional family consist of two parents and two children; instead, more diverse and shifting family structures are becoming the norm.

American Families Today The American family has undergone many changes since the 1900’s. More so, in the past 40 years, the nuclear family seen dramatic changes and has been described as deteriorating. There has been a dramatic rise in divorce, single parent households and child poverty. Studies have shown that children growing up in poverty-stricken single parent households are more likely to be affected well into adulthood. While this is the case, people are also living longer, and families are accommodating this change by living with relatives allowing for more bonding time then in previous generations.

Bowen family systems theory is used for understanding both family emotional and relationship processes (Knauth, 2003). Kolbert, Crothers, and Field (2013) suggest that although there are few publications on Bowen family systems theory, it provides counsellors with a framework for clients, specifically with helping adolescents understand how their functioning and identity have been influenced by their family. Bowen’s differentiation of the self has been argued to be equivalent to identity, and an individual’s balance both togetherness and individuality within their family, family members are both borrowing and lending aspects of themselves between each other (Kolbert, Crothers, & Field, 2013). Bowen, (1978, p. 188) suggested that individuals

“Family” is a hard word to create a concrete definition for. If one were to ask three random people on the street, it is likely they will receive three completely different answers to defining a family. The textbook definition of family according to the etymology dictionary is: “Origin in early 15c. “servants of a household” from Latin familia “family servants, domestics collectively, the servants in a household.” The traditional dictionary describes family in a more narrow fashion stating, “a basic social unit consisting of parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not.”

The structural aspect of a family is that since laws and rights have come into fruition, it has led to an increase in couples having civil marriages and partnerships. Currently, the frequency of partners who are gay and lesbian has also increased and has therefore wilted of what was once recognised a ‘traditional family’. Parents who live on their own and taking full responsibility of their children has taken a gradual rise in and around the World, this has also the paved the way towards a lesser representation on how a traditional family would look like to a certain

According to Dictionary.com, family means a group of persons who form a household under one head, including parents, children, and servants. According to Google family means, all the descendants of a common ancestor. As one can see, there are many different meanings to family. To me family means support, dysfunctional, love, and friendships. Family is the most important influence on a child’s life.

Maureen Samms-Vaughan’s article “Children Caught in the Crossfire” sends a very sensitive message to the families out there. The title encompasses the whole issue presented in the article. Vaughan creates a forum for families undergoing this issue, as well as for other families out there, to be educated about the severe consequences that the change in family structures have on children. Vaughan introduces her message by beginning with the thesis statement, “The change in family structure that children experience during their lives are not without consequences.” Even though the thesis would have been much more effective at the end of her introduction, it still helped to pave a path for the readers.

Family Family is one of the greatest gift and blessing from the Lord. Without family you can not feel love, care , satisfaction and happiness. They are the most treasured blessing that no one can take away from us. It is also like a fragile thing you consider as the most precious gem in your whole life. Family is a basic unit in the society traditionally consisting of parents and children.

The family is viewed as an essential part of our society, it always has been and it always will be. Although the family as a unit is vital for the continuous running of our society it can no longer be known as a fixed category. The first definition of a family found online is “a group consisting of two parents and their children living together as a unit”. This is still the only way many people can view a family. Another that deviates from this particular image is seemingly wrong or incomplete.

I believe that every family has their own roots, essence, uniqueness, beliefs and thoughts, some families have both parents, some just the mother, just the father, two mothers or two fathers, they might have an only child or two, or maybe 5 or even 10, therefore, those children start learning all these things from their family and surroundings, they ask questions, they imitate each other’s actions and are constantly learning and trying to catch as much information and experiences as possible. Children are growing fast, their parents are their role models, they learn mostly from them; parents have the tremendous job of forming good citizens that provide to society, healthy and happy beings that keep growing as humans in every stage of their