Posted by / Tuesday 29 January 2019 / No comments

There are several reasons why your family is very important


Mother And Daughter, Generations
THERE ARE SEVERAL REASONS WHY YOUR FAMILY IS VERY IMPORTANT
Introduction             
In Africa especially, and in many parts of the world for that matter, the family is seen as the cradle of society. A family can be defined as a group of people who are affiliated by blood, marriage or adoption. In ancient days, when a slave is purchased, that slave or his/her descendants may be seen as members of the family. The family plays a very major role in society and some of them are discussed below.

 FUNCTIONS OF THE FAMILY
Gives identity to the individual
One of the basic functions of the family is to give a member the required identity. Every child who was born of a woman belongs to a family and that family must accept him/her into the family. One of the ways in which a child is accepted into the family is for the child to be named. Once a child is named by the father, mother or an elder member of the family, that child gains an identity of the family he/she is born into. The society can now point exactly which family a person belongs to.

The perpetuation of family through reproduction
Another major function of the family is to ensure that the members do not become extinct. This is achieved through procreation. It is a basic function of the members of the family to get married or be married off in order to give birth to other members. The basic reason is to ensure that those members of the family who die or get lost mysteriously are replaced. As a consequence of this, where a member dies without leaving an offspring, the woman is given off to a brother to produce babies. Barrenness is therefore not an acceptable condition in an African setting.

People, Three, Portrait, Black
Nurturing of younger members of the family
Another major function of the family is to nurture the younger members of the family to be able to fit into the norms of the family and the larger society as a whole. In every society, individuals are expected to behave according to the norms of society. The family serves as a place where the younger members of the society are tutored, trained and generally nurtured.

Assurance of law and order
It is the function of the family to build the foundations of members of the family to become law-abiding members of the larger society. This is achieved through the institution of certain basic laws and ensuring that they are adhered to by members of the family. These basic laws in the family are not dissimilar to the laws that pertain in the society at large, so the ability of a member of the family to adhere to such laws at home (within the family) ensures that they able to adhere to the laws of the society, thus contributing to the maintenance of law and order in society.

Provision of physical needs
Some of the basic needs of the members of the family include, but is not limited to food, clothing, and shelter. It is the primary responsibility of the family to provide all these material items of importance. It is also the duty of the family to ensure that when a member of the family become indisposed, medication is sought for and provided to that member of family. If a family member dies through sickness and the larger society finds out that the family did not make any attempt to get him or her healing, the head of the family could be hauled before the clan chief.

Family, Sunset, Beach, Happiness, Summer
Provision of emotional needs
One other function of the family towards a member is the offer emotional support. A member must feel loved and secured as a member. He must receive the necessary care from the other members of the family. He or she must win the respect of member and in turn, show maximum respect to other members.

Provides a sense of security
It is also a function of the family to provide security for the members. One of the ways of doing this is to ensure that no member of the family is subjected to any physical harm by another member of the family or by an outsider. Apart from physical harm the family also ensures that members do not come under any negative influence that can lead waywardness within the larger society. For example, if a stranger enters a house and asks of a member of the family, they usually want to know the reason why you are looking for that member of the family. If the stranger’s mission is not too clear, no one would tell where that particular member of the family is. This arrangement and basic norm of protecting the members of the family gives them a sense of security.


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