Introduction to family and family life education
Every person lives in a family. Life process begins in an institution called family. Family life refers to the sum of different life situations that occur within a family. In this context. family life education can be defined as the educational process which teaches students about different aspects and modes in families affecting and determining personal as well as family matters concerned with its members. The personal and family matter may include physical, moral, emotional, and social development as well as the problems and issues of adulthood, parenthood, marriage, and interpersonal relationships in the family and society. Therefore, family life education can also be understood as the educational process to assist students in their physical, emotional, moral, and social development in the family along with their preparation and adjustment during adolescence, adulthood, marriage, parenthood, and ageing.
Human Life Cycle
Human life is a dynamic process of beginning from birth and ending to death. Birth is possible only after fusion of male and female gamete cells and its proper development inside the womb of the mother.
Inside the womb of the mother, there is a system of supplying oxygen , nutrients, water and all other necessary materials required for the development of fetus. After about nine months and seven days , the fetus becomes matured and gets birth out from the uterus to the external world. After birth, the life is not so easy in the first few years. Period up to one year is called infancy and this stage is the dependent stage for food, locomotion and most of other aspects of life.
The stages grow gradually as babyhood, childhood , pubescence, adolescence, adult and old ages. Ultimately, inevitable death collapses the life of each human individual. From the stage of puberty, the reproductive power of human proliferates. Females produce ova and the males produce sperms. When they fuse, a new life begins a zygote. It is further developed into embryo and fetus that becomes mature and gets birth as a new member of the human society.
In this way, the life cycle of human being continues. Continuous and uninterrupted life cycle has made us alive from millions of years back to the present time.
Scope of Family Life Education
Scopes of family life education comprises of various aspects of human lives that are in association with human families. People marry in order to form a private family and live a family life with mutual support and cooperation. Major scopes of family life education are as follows:
a) Marriage and Marital Stage
Family life education teaches about the techniques of understanding and cooperation between spouses of a married couple. There are many issues that differ in husband and wife due to the norms and values of their originating family.
b) Stage of Family Expansion
Family education implies the process of adding new members in the family. Most common way of expanding family is the process of giving birth to new babies. Family life education concerns with limiting number of children with contraceptive methods and birth spacing . In case of sterility in parents, it teaches the couple about the techniques of getting child.
c) Stage of Training Children
When children grow to pubescence and adolescence, they learn the skills of self-dependence in various matters. Such self-learning may not be adequate for the skills like social adjustments and emotional controls.
Family life education guides parents to train their children regarding such skills. It also teaches them the skills of developing financial security, saving , moral values, self-discipline, etc. It is the stage of taking important decisions regarding academic course-selections and life skills.
d) Stage of Children's Maturity
When children get matured, it is their time to seek for their new family. The parents should support them regarding this issue. There may be controversy among the members of upper and lower generation. It is due to changing nature of family norms and values with time.
The members of both generation should understand that it is a common situation between generation gap. Therefore, they should handle such situations tactfully in such a way that the problems and disputes are minimized. It helps in developing happy family life.
e) Stage of Rest
It comes at old age . At this age, there is increased dependency upon others. Elderly people need more physical, psychological and medical care. The adults and children should provide all the basic care to the elderly people in their family. Focusing elderly people and their problems, governments of different countries have made special provisions like incentives, insurance and free services.
The nature and volume of such services may differ from country to country. People of both generations should develop mutual understanding and respect to each others' feelings to avoid chaos and confusions in the family.
Importance of Family Life Education
As we have discussed general introduction of family life education, it assists family members for adjustment and development in different situations. Importance of family life education can be listed as below:
a) It helps people to understand the concept and importance of family.
b) It helps family members to cope with physical, emotional , social and moral developments.
c) It teaches us about the norm of a happy family. It gives ideas to maintain happiness in the family.
d) It helps in establishing and maintaining healthy relationship among family members.
e) It develops understanding and knowledge about the roles and responsibilities of family members on the basis of their designations in the family.
f) It helps adolescents to cope with rapid development and changes in adolescent period.
g) It helps parents to understand their responsibilities and also helps in sound decision making.
h) It assists family to be fit and well-adjusted in the community.
Introduction to Family
Family is a group of people living together in a house. Family members share common mess, common roof, common family norms and values , common religion and various other socio-cultural features. Family helps its members to be well-adjusted in the society. Family members are related with one another through main three ways: blood (Father/Mother and Son/Daughter), marriage (Husband and Wife) , and adoption (Adopted children and parents) . Members of a family support each other with the feelings of unity and cordial relationships.
A family is commonly defined as a group of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption: interact with one another according to their designated family relationships; live under a common roof; use a common mess; create and follow common subcultures; and stand as a unit of the society.
Importance of Family
Human is a social animal . It claims itself as the most advanced creature of the world due to presence of extra-ordinary brain in it. It lives in family and society. It takes various advantages by living in a family. Family creates an environment of support and assistance to all the family members through common efforts. There is much importance of family because family functions in its unique way for the family members. This importance can be inferred from the following functions of family.
Types of Family
According to the size and constitution, families are categorized into two types. They are nuclear family and joint family.
a)Nuclear family
It is the family consisting of parent/s and their own unmarried child/children. It is called small family due to less numbers of members in it. If one child of nuclear family marries, then the family does not remain a nuclear family. It is then called a joint family,. In a nuclear family, there live no more than one married couple.
b) Joint family
It is a composite family consisting of many family members of three or more generations. There may be two or more married couples and children from different parents.
Basic characteristics including advantages and disadvantages of both types of families can be learnt from the following table showing difference between these two
Differences between Nuclear Family and Joint Family
Nuclear Family |
Joint/Extended family |
||
1 |
It is a small in size. Less number of family members
live in a nuclear family. |
1 |
It is big in size. More members are there in a joint
family. |
2 |
There are no more than one married couple. |
2 |
There may be more
than one married couple. |
3 |
It is composed of husband, wife, and their unmarried
offspring. |
3 |
It is composed of two or more nuclear families. |
Advantages of nuclear family |
Advantages of joint family |
1. Basic needs are easily fulfilled. 2. It is self supportive. 3. Decision making process is easier and faster. 4. Mutual obligation between the needs of family members rarely exists in nuclear families. 5. Less dispute and discussion. 6. There is more privacy of family affairs. 7. Quality of life increases. 8. Plays very active role in population management |
1. Child care is easier due to presence of elderly people, grown up children, and unemployed family members. 2. There is more physical security and protection. 3. Feelings are more intense. Emotional security is more due to the presence of many members. 4. More economic security 5. There is better inheritance of social values and cultural practices. |
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