TYPES OF FAMILIES

Types of families
• Families offer companionship, security, and a measure
of protection against social evils in today’s world. But
family structure, like society at large, has undergone
significant changes in the years since World War II.
• George Murdock a family is defined as “a social group
characterized by common residence, economic co-
operation and reproduction. It includes adults of both
sexes, at least two of whom maintain a socially
approved sexual relationship and one or more children,
own or adopted of the sexually co-habiting adults.”
 Types of families
• 1. The Nuclear Family is traditionally thought of
the parents and the siblings.
• 2. The extended family refers to grandparents,
aunts, uncles, and cousins. This type of family
structure may form due to financial difficulties or
because older relatives are unable to care for
themselves alone.
• 3. Single parents. Traditionally, single parents are
thought to be a product of a divorce, but a
widower or a mother who had never been
married can also be a single parent.
 Types of families
• 4. Stepfamilies. Now, as the stigmas against divorce
and remarriage continue to dissolve, more and more
stepfamilies are coming together. Stepfamilies can be
an opportunity to forge new, lasting, loving bonds. It
involves two separate families merging into one new
unit. It consists of a new husband and wife and their
children from previous marriages or relationships.
• 5. Foster care family, also known as Alternative Care,
provides children and young people with a safe,
nurturing and stable home to live when it is not
possible for them to live at home with their parents or
family.
 Types of families
• 6. Childless Family
• While most people think of family as including children,
there are couples who either cannot or choose not to have
children. The childless family is sometimes the "forgotten
family," as it does not meet the traditional standards set by
society. Childless families consist of a husband and wife
living and working together.
• 7. Grandparent Family
• Many grandparents today are raising their grandchildren
for a variety of reasons. The child is raised by his
grandparents, and the parents are not present in the child's
life. This could be due to parents' death, addiction,
abandonment or being unfit parents.
 Types of families
• 8. Empty Nest Family: In this family, the children have
moved out of the home and the parents reside
together.
• 9. Transnational family: These families live in more
than one country. They may spend part of each year in
their country of origin returning to the adopted land on
a regular basis. The child may spend time being cared
for by different family members in each country.
• 10. Gay or Lesbian family: A family where one or both
of the parents’ sexual orientation is gay or lesbian. This
may be a two-parent family, an adoptive family, a
single parent family or an extended family.
 Types of families
• 11. Co-custody family: An arrangement where
divorced parents both have legal responsibility
for their children. Children may alternatively live
with both parents or live with one and have
regular visit with the other.
• 12. Conditionally separated families: A family
member is separated from the rest of the family.
This may be due to employment far away;
incarceration; hospitalization. They remain
significant members of the family.
 Types of families
• Observations:
• 1.The mother-father model of the ‘nuclear family’ is
no longer the norm as step-parent families, same-sex
parent families and single parent households are
increasing in number. Many people, organisations and
institutions may now contribute to the health and
wellbeing of children through networks of kin,
education and childcare support; most families,
however, still comprise a mother and/or a father who
are responsible for childrearing and who identify with
the role of mother, father or parent.
 Types of families
• 2. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to
what is the best type of family structure. As long as a
family is filled with love and support for one another, it
tends to be successful and thrive. However, the widely
circulated claim that same-sex families are “no
different” from intact, heterosexual families is not
settled science. New studies suggest that children do
best when they are raised by their biological parents
in a stable, intact marriage. Ana Samuel
• Source:
http://www.familystructurestudies.com/summary
 THE DUAL ROLE OF PARENTS:
NURTURE AND STRUCTURE
• In the nurture role, you take care of your children’s basic needs,
such as food, medical care, shelter, clothing, etc., as well as give
love, attention, understanding, acceptance, time, and support.
•
• You listen to your children, are patient, and have fun with them.
You make time for your kids, show an interest in them and their
activities, and encourage them to pursue their passions.
•
• Through your words and actions, you communicate to your children
that they are loved and accepted. Typically, when you are in the
nurturing role, you enjoy and accept your children as they are and
do not expect any change in behavior.
 THE DUAL ROLE OF PARENTS:
NURTURE
• When you are nurturing, your children:
• feel good about themselves.
• feel lovable and worthy of being cared for.
• feel listened to – learn their ideas, feelings, and needs are
important – and feel that they are understood.
• become trusting because they know that their needs will be met.
• learn that they can tackle difficult situations and face
challenges because they do not have to face them alone – you will
be there to support them.
• are able to give back to other people through the emotional
support they are given from you. This builds their ability to
empathize with others.
• It is through loving and supportive early parent-child relationships
that the foundations for future healthy relationships are formed.
 THE DUAL ROLE OF PARENTS:
STRUCTURE
• The structure role: In this role, you give direction,
impose rules, use discipline, set limits, establish and
follow through with consequences, hold your children
accountable for their behavior, and teach values.
•
• You provide the guidance that helps your children to
change, grow, and mature. Responsible behavior, in
line with your children’s maturity levels, is taught and
expected.
•
• It is in the structure role that you expect change in
behavior and increased growth, maturity, and ability.
 THE DUAL ROLE OF PARENTS:
STRUCTURE
• When you provide this kind of structure, children:
• feel a sense of safety that rules will be in place when
they can’t control their own impulses – you will be
there to stop them, guide them, and be in-charge of
their well-being.
• learn to tolerate a reasonable amount of frustration
and disappointment when they don’t always get their
own way.
• discover that the world does not revolve totally around
them. As a result, they becomeless egocentric.
• learn responsible behavior and that they are capable
of doing things.
 THE DUAL ROLE OF PARENTS:
STRUCTURE
• learn from their mistakes.
• gain experience making decisions.
• become more self-sufficient and capable as they learn
the skills to become independent.
• internalize your rules and values.
• Often parents have more difficulty carrying out this
function in a healthy way. Yet it is vitally important to
your children’s development that you discipline them,
teach them, guide them, provide rules and follow
through on the rules, and set reasonable expectations
for their behavior.
 Finding Your Balance between
Nurture and Structure
• If you only provide the nurture piece without
any structure or limits or without holding
children accountable, your children can
become spoiled, unappreciative, self-
centered, and not learn how to do things for
themselves. These are hallmarks of an “over-
indulged” child. Your children may mistake
your kindness for weakness and not view you
as a source of support.
 Finding Your Balance between
Nurture and Structure
• If you only provide the structure
piece without building a strong relationship of
trust, your children may feel resentful,
unloved, abandoned, and may be less likely to
cooperate willingly with the rules or to
internalize them. Fearing punishment,
children may try to fly under the radar and
hide their mistakes and vulnerabilities from
you. You will miss opportunities to influence
your children’s behaviors and choices.
 Parenting education
• Parenting education is the prevention of child
abuse/neglect and interpersonal violence through parent
education and support programs which enhance the
parent/caregiver’s ability to:

• Promote children’s development,

• Improve child/parent attachment,
• Improve child/parent communication skills,
• Enhance self-esteem of participants,
• Improve child/parent social control, and
• To reduce aggressive behaviors by children and their
caregivers.
The Ministry of Gender Equality should

• Be committed to helping families to become strong and

able to be true resources for all members of the family.
Strong families make strong communities.

• Run programs designed to help parents learn about child

development - physical, mental, and emotional - and to
acquire or enhance skills to understand and deal with the
child’s needs at different times in their growth and
development.

• Ensure that programs have the capacity to provide, or

connect families to, health and social services families need
for their well-being.
 Family types and parenting
• The challenges :
• How do we empower the various types of
families to promote good parenting practices?
• Who can be the stakeholders in promoting good
parenting practices? Can a network among
stakeholders be established?
• Should parenting issues be the concern of ALL
mauritian families or targeting specific types of
families only?
THANK YOU