The Definition of A Family

A family is a group of people who are related to each other, especially parents and their children. ... When people talk about a family, they sometimes mean children.

'Family' is a single word, with many different meanings. People have many ways of defining a family and what being a part of a family means to them. Families differ in terms of economic, cultural, social, and many other facets, but what every family has in common is that the people who call it a family are making clear that those people are important in some way to the person calling them his family.

The word "family" can be used metaphorically to create more inclusive categories such as community, nationhood, global village, and humanism. The field of genealogy aims to trace family lineages through history. The family is also an important economic unit studied in family economics.

Family life is defined as the routine interactions and activities that families have together. When members of a family enjoy each other's company and spend a lot of time doing things together, this is an example of a good family life.

One of the first professional organizations in the U.S. for family life educators, the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR)[1] explains Family Life Education this way: "Family Life Education is the educational effort to strengthen individual and family life through a family perspective. The objective of Family Life Education is to enrich and improve the quality of individual and family life." Parenting classes, pre-marriage education, marriage enrichment programs, and family financial planning courses are a few examples of this human development profession. These formal programs are a relatively recent phenomenon. However, Family Life Education has existed informally throughout history—with marriage and child-rearing counsel passed from generation to generation as well by written information in ancient writings, mythology and religious scripture.

In a seminal work in the field, by Margaret Arcus, Jay Schvaneveldt and J. Joel Moss, the Handbook of Family Life Education offers several definitions by scholars as the field has evolved over time, dating back to 1962. Unlike Family Therapy, Family Life Education works on a prevention model—teaching families to enrich family life and to prevent problems before they occur. Family Therapy intervenes primarily after problems set-in. Research from the Rand Corporation (from Rand research report Early Childhood Interventions: Proven Results, Future Promise) and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (in its report Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return) shows that family problems are less damaging for people—and less expensive for society—when they can be tackled by prevention. Family Life Education recognizes that all families can benefit from education and enrichment programs-not only those experiencing difficulties.

The dictionary defines family in several ways. One definition is "a fundamental social group in society typically consisting of one or two parents and their children." While this definition is a good starting point, there are several modern family structures that are excluded by this definition, such as childless couples or other variations on the family unit. Another definition is "Two or more people who share goals and values, have long-term commitments to one another and reside usually in the same dwelling." This definition encompasses the vast majority of modern family units; for the purposes of this article, the second definition will be used.

In the context of human society, a family (from Latin: familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth), affinity (by marriage or other relationship), or co-residence (as implied by the etymology of the English word "family"[citation needed] [...] from Latin familia 'family servants, domestics collectively, the servants in a household,' thus also 'members of a household, the estate, property; the household, including relatives and servants,' abstract noun formed from famulus 'servant, slave) or some combination of these.[citation needed] Members of the immediate family may include spouses, parents, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters[citation needed]. Members of the extended family may include grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces, and siblings-in-law[citation needed]. Sometimes these are also considered members of the immediate family, depending on an individual's specific relationship with them[citation needed].

In most societies, the family is the principal institution for the socialization of children. As the basic unit for raising children, anthropologists generally classify most family organizations as matrifocal (a mother and her children); conjugal (a wife, her husband, and children, also called the nuclear family); avuncular (for example, a grandparent, a brother, his sister, and her children); or extended (parents and children co-reside with other members of one parent's family). Sexual relations among the members are regulated by rules concerning incest such as the incest taboo.

Who Makes a Family

The traditional family consists of a father, mother and children. This is the family shown on television as the standard family. However, the 21st century showcases a variety of family units, some very different from the standard of the 1950s. Today, children are also often raised in single parent homes, by grandparents or by homosexual parents. Some families opt to have no children, or cannot have children due to some medical or emotional barrier. The idea that parents and children make a family is a basic definition; however, in order to accurately acknowledge other family structures, a broader definition is necessary. In addition to a more universal family definition, there are also plenty of people who consider a group of friends to be family, and adults who consider pets -- from goldfish to horses -- as defining members of the family unit.

What is Family Life

Family Life Education focuses on healthy family functioning within a family systems perspective and provides a primarily preventive approach.

The skills and knowledge needed for healthy functioning are widely known: strong communication skills, knowledge of typical human development, good decision-making skills, positive self-esteem, and healthy interpersonal relationships. The goal of Family Life Education is to teach and foster this knowledge and these skills to enable individuals and families to function optimally.

Family Life Education professionals consider societal issues — economics, education, work-family issues, parenting, sexuality, gender and more — within the context of the family. They believe that societal problems like substance abuse, domestic violence, unemployment, debt, and child abuse can be more effectively addressed from a perspective that considers the individual and family as part of larger systems. Knowledge about healthy family functioning can be applied to prevent or minimize many of these problems.

Family Life Education provides information to families through an educational approach, often in a classroom-type setting or through educational materials.