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Many people are more familiar with the word, nuclear family than to extended family. It is very obvious and visible that nuclear families are struggling with few main issues, such as the elderly problems or educational issues.
Extended families have more time for the adults to interact with their children than nuclear families do, and the relationship among each family is a lot more intimate. Extended families also have strong educational technique and a tough control of parents. However, this traditional system of extended families no longer exists in today��s society. Instead, the new way of living, a system of nuclear families, has been discovered.
The term nuclear family was developed in the western world to distinguish the family group consisting of parents and their children, usually a father, mother, and children, from what is known as an extended family. According to Merriam-Webster the term dates back to 1947 and is therefore relatively new, although nuclear family structures themselves are not. Generally, the trend to shift from extended to nuclear family structures has been supported by increasing mobility and modernization. Nuclear families emphasize the independence of the each member of a particular family and it is easy to ruin the parent-child relationship because both of the parents are most likely to have their own jobs in nuclear families.
Since we are analyzing the way��children react to nuclear families or the difficulty they might, or have already been, face, we should at least be able to understand the children��s perspectives of the word, family. A qualitative study with the children aged between 8 and 14 found that children��s views do not necessarily conform to stereotypical images of the��nuclear family. In her study, Virginia Morrow of the Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, found children can be constructive and reflective commentators about the concept of family. They have a pragmatic view of family life, and are aware of a wide variation of family practices and structures. From children��s point of view, love, care and mutual respect and support were the key characteristics of family. This was the case regardless of gender, ethnic background, and location. Overall, children appeared to have an accepting, inclusive view of what counts as family and their definitions centre around the nuclear form.
For some children, brothers and/or sisters and more distant relatives are very important. This is not differentiated by ethnic origin, though there may be differences in the expectation and meaning of siblings' relationships, according to ethnic background. This needs to be seen in the context of children's cultural background and religious traditions, which emphasize family obligations and interdependence. Contrary to stereotypical assumptions, children of Pakistani origin were no more likely than other children to describe extended families, and some children, regardless of ethnic background, described close and regular contact with more distant relatives which are clearly important to them.
Not only have the children of young age but also teenagers have a possibility of having problems with nuclear families. Since most parents in nuclear families both go out for work, they would not be able to spend enough time with their children. If their children are going through puberty, the problem gets more serious. During puberty, one of the most important factors of the parent-child relationship is communication; however it is not hard to tell that most parents do not have enough time for emotional conversations with their children.
Also, parents of nuclear families prefer liberal restrictions than strict disciplines. In addition, since they usually have less than one sibling, teenagers could become self-centered and independent. It could be hard for them to cooperate with or compete against others, and they do not have the ability to overcome the conflicts or frictions among their surrounding people. Later, it is easy for them to become emotionally instable and aggressive.
Works Cited:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_family
http://www.csus.edu/indiv/k/kawamoto/downloadable/50jackson1.htm
http://www.gurupedia.com/n/nu/nuclear_family.htm
http://www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialpolicy/spr798.asp
http://kr.ks.yahoo.com/service/ques_reply/ques_view.html?dnum=AAL&qnum=589683
http://newssearch.looksmart.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20040716/ai_n12803535
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