Literature: Kinds Of Families, Their strength and weaknesses
Family is a very important unit in the society. Everyone comes from a particular family that contributed or is still contributing to their well-being.
There different kinds of family that we come from and each of them have their strengths as well as weaknesses. This is why I think that nature designed life in such away that, we can't decide on:
- The kind of family we should come from
- The kind of parents that should give birth to us
- Our mother-tongue
- Our heights
These are just the things about us from the family that we can not control.
In this article, I would be taking a look at some known and popular kind of families and the strengths, and weaknesses that they may have.
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Below are some of the kinds of families that I would be looking at in this post:
- The single parenting family
- The Nuclear Family
- The “Only Parents” or Childless Family
- The extended family
The Single Parenting Family
This as a family that is made up of one parent and a child or children. Having this kind of family may be as a result of the demise of a partner. This makes the other partner a widow.
This kind of family could also be formed because the parent divorced or even did not get married.
The Strengths of the single parent family
There is a strong cord of bonding that exists between the single parents and their child as they make time for themselves which makes the relationship intimate.
There is less arguments or misunderstanding in single parenting.
The children of single parents tends to learn to be independent fast.
Single parents have their freedom to make family decisions singlehandedly, without the opinion of another partner.
Weaknesses Of single parenting
Raising a child alone is burdensome in single parenting. The single parents bear the financial burden alone.
Being the only parent to train the children in terms of setting family standards or discipline is very challenging.
A single parent may not be able to provide the needed emotional support that the children needs.
The Nuclear Family
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The Nuclear family is a family that is made up of the parents and their children living together as a household. This kind of family is more prevalent in the western world. It is not like that in Africa but then, it gradually coming into practice.
The Strengths Of Nuclear Family
There is a support system as both parents contribute to the well-being of the family.
The children gains emotional support.
The financial constraints of the parents are reduced.
The Weaknesses Of Nuclear family
The children in this family are highly dependent on the parents.
This kind of family mounts so much pressure on parents to meet up with family needs.
There is also a less support systems as grand Parents are left out.
- The “Only Parents” or Childless Family
This is a kind of family that is made up of only the parents. The couple do not want to have or raise children based on their decision. It may also be as a result of infertility issues.
The Strengths
This family is financially stable as there are no children or dependants to place them on financial responsibilities.
The couple will have more time for themselves.
The Weaknesses
The couple may feel bad seeing their peers with kids while they themselves do not.
The couple in this family may be exempted from the family social benefits which often considers parents or couples with kids.
There is a stigma that is attached to having a childless family.
- The extended family
This is a family that consists of the parents, the children and other relatives such nephews, cousins, uncles. The grand parents my also be included in this family. This category of family is most prominent in Africa as opposed to the western adopting the nuclear kind family.
The Strengths Of The Extended Family
There is a strong support system in the family that comes from other relatives.
There is respect and recognition of family standards.
The Weaknesses
A weakness of this family is that there could be fallouts or even life threatening misunderstanding among family members or other relatives who may feel cheated from getting family resources.
Conclusively, there's no kind of family without its own strengths and weaknesses. While in African nations, the extended family gains more ground the westerners have more of the nuclear family.