SUSTAINING THE PLACE OF FAMILY IN THE 21ST CENTURY CHANGING SOCIETY.

Through different times and over the centuries of humanity, despite the changing nature of society, the place and role of the family have always been important.   Over time, family and the basis of what makes up a family, the ideals of a family have been faced with challenges and there is a need to sustain the place of family in this situation.  The question that comes to mind is what does family mean? What challenges is the family facing and how can the place of family be sustained in a changing society?

What is a Family, the roles and place of family in a society

Family means different things to different people, but in all its difference, there is a general agreement that a family in its simplest form can be defined as a group of persons, living together, who are united by marriage as well as blood, it is a basic cell and foundation of the society. Family helps to pass down social norms, ideals, culture, customs, tradition, political responsibility, and language of people from one generation to another. It is important to note that there is no ideal family, no two families are the same and each family has their different values and ideals.

The major function of a family is to provide affection, food, protection, shelter, and security to all its members. What cannot be overlooked is how important a family, especially in its role in bearing the primary responsibility for education and socialization it is where children who later become adults. The Family structure is where individuals learn the basics of emotional intelligence, create and have a social identity, and understand the values of citizenship and what it means to belong to a society to mention a few.

 

In the 21st century, there have been different transformation experienced by families some of them includes high rate/ proportion of divorce, population aging, the threat of illness and diseases especially covid, reduction  and diversity of household size,  decreasing in fertility rate, changes in gender norms and perception, loss of culture and values, issues of attached to the economy to mention a few these are some of the challenges that plague the sustainability of family in the changing world

Family is crucial in social development; it is also an essential structure in the building blocks of a society and ensures the continuation of a society.  

What is a society and changing Society

Society according to Roger Keesing, is a population marked by relative separation, from surrounding populations and a distinctive culture, while to Giddens, society is a group of people who live in a particular territory and are subject to a common system of political authority, and are aware of having a distinct identity from others around them. Recently the world is becoming a global village and the societies and distinctiveness have begun to be blurred which brings to a need to understand the idea of a changing society.

The idea of changing society differs among people, but in a simple sense, it just covers the fact that the world is dynamic and society, from all levels of social, cultural, economic, political, and religious spheres is constantly changing. Examples are the human perception of what is perceived to be right or wrong, the people’s beliefs and norms are not static, there changes in the gender roles and gender dynamics, there is also evident changes in the development of technology, the presence of industrialization and discoveries, changes in different religious practices with some individuals believing that there is the downfall of traditional moral values. The changing society is also evident with the presence of urbanization, modernization, acculturalization, and cultural appropriation to mention a few. All these changes affect and transform cultural and social institutions.

In other words, the world and society are constantly evolving and with this constant change, how can the place of family be sustained?

How to sustain the place of family in a changing society

Sustaining the family in a changing society involves efforts from all its members and it all bores down to building a good relationship among each member of the family, making sure that from the inception of the family creation, there is stability and a stable base, with that been said, how visible is the sustaining of family in a changing society? 

An important way in which a family and all its ideals can be sustained in a changing society is to have a family structure where everyone knows their role and performs them. Although in modern society there have been different dynamics, setup, and structures of families, this article simply uses the traditional dynamics, setup, and structure of a family. This is the father, mother as parents, and children structure. An ideal parent’s role is basically to love, care, provide, protect, lead, and train the child. Sometimes the parent has to guide and motivate the children, as well as discipline and also be their role models. The first contact of a child most times is their parents, and for the first growth stage of a child, the parents are their yardstick. Thus the role of the parent is to train a child in the right way according to their beliefs under the law and sanity of humanity. For the children, their role in the family is to obey their parents and do the right things until they are adults or can think effectively weighing all their actions and possible the possible outcome. Once this is set up and understood, there are chances for a family stable base, stability, and possible sustainability.

Another major way of sustaining the family, especially in a changing society is to build a family tradition. Family tradition simply means different activities or patterns of behavior that has a reflection of what a family values, especially their beliefs and interests. These traditions can be passed down through generations or can be created in a new family, thus creating svaluable rituals, recording and sharing family history is important. Also ensuring everyone in the family is involved and that affection goes around the family plays a role in sustaining the family in the changing society especially when it relates to training and retaining culture and values.

For religious families, they can create a praying and study time for their religion. These different family traditions help to build a strong relationship among everyone in a family. In other words, it is important to know that every family has their valuable rituals and this helps to build create and sustain a bond among and within family and friends. This is really helpful in dealing with the issue of losing one’s religious believes.

Additionally, sustaining the family by having quality time, communicating, spending time, and having a meal together helps to strengthen the bonds within a family, everyone must eat together, at least once a day to bond and catch up with each other. This act helps foster unity within the family. 

An important way to sustain the family is accepting and understanding that the world is not static. The ability for individuals in the family to accept reasonable changes and accept current reality. Sustaining the family in the changing society bores down to understanding that no two people are the same thing, even twins are not the same, they have different habits, and different temperaments among others. 

So, in a bid to sustain the family, it is important to understand and also recognize each other’s differences, uniqueness, and show affection. Everyone has struggles even in a family, understanding their struggles, listening to the struggles, and encouraging them helps in battling and bridging the gap that changing society comes with.  Thus, it is important to understand and recognize each individual, appreciate them, and show them love.

Conclusion

To sum it up, the changing society comes with a lot of challenges as well as development, there is a changing pattern in human interactions, socialization, economic and social status, and technology among others that affects and transforms cultural and social institutions. With this development comes a threat to sustaining the family, this article has looked at ways of sustaining the family and it summarizes that family structure is important as well as communication and building a family tradition. Understanding the different family dynamics and knowing that is one of the most effective dynamics that have the possibility of sustaining a family was focused on the traditional family dynamics, who are unified and genuinely happy in society. It is important to note that there are other family dynamics, especially with how society is continuously changing.

Credit: “this article was first written for ‘Insight Africa in 2023,’