WHAT IS A FAMILY? No, really, what is it?

In groups, create a definition of “FAMILY” In groups, create a definition of “FAMILY”. Remember that your definition must include all types of families and exclude other groups of people like a group of friends or the classroom. For example, “A mother, father, and their children” does not take into account blended families or step-families, and “A group of people who love each other” could also apply to a group of friends.

According to the Catholic Church… The family is the original cell of social life. It is the natural society in which husband and wife are called to give themselves in love and in the gift of life. Authority, stability and a life of relationships within the family constitute the foundations for freedom, security, and fraternity within society. The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honour God and make good use of freedom. Family life is an initiation into life in society.”

- The Vanier Institute of the Family defines the Canadian family as… “Any combination of two or more persons who are bound together over time by ties of mutual consent, birth, and/or adoption/placement and who, together assume responsibilities for the functions of the family”

The legal vision of the family: It is a unit of emotional and financial dependency, whether it includes single parents with children, gay or lesbian partners, or unmarried couples. Today courts recognize multiple parents and grandparents and the importance of the children’s interest in maintaining family relationships with those who have played significant roles in their lives. Parenthood, rather than marriage, seems to be the central issue in family law.

The family, therefore, is defined not by the members of it but instead by the function it performs

No society can survive unless certain basic functions are carried out. These functions are called functional requisites because they are required for a society to work. In turn, the family can only exist if it is supported by the larger society. The family system and society must be interrelated in many important ways.

THE 6 FUNCTIONS OF THE FAMILY

1. Families are responsible for the addition of new members through procreation, adoption, or placement. This does not mean that every family must have children, only that they are responsible for the addition of new members.

2. Families provide physical care and maintenance of group members. This includes provide food, shelter, clothing, and access to medical care for spouses, children, and elderly family members.

3. Families socialize their children by teaching them the skills, knowledge, values and attitudes of their society. This means teaching children how to be adults in the wider society. What socialization means varies from culture to culture, society to society.

4. Families are responsible for the social control of their members in order to maintain order in the family and in society. This means teaching children how to behave through discipline and feedback. This establishes order in the family.

5. Families are responsible for the emotional wellbeing of their members through affective nurturance or “love”. Families in other cultures motivate their members to participate in society through other means. Here in Canada, love is a big part of family life.

6. Families are responsible for the economic function of producing and consuming goods. In most Canadian families this means the parents have jobs in order to buy the things the family needs. In the past, families took more responsibility for the production of these goods (through farming, for example).

Now, in groups, make a mnemonic device (acronym, sentence) to remember all 6 functions.