Is the Nuclear Family The Ideal Family Structure? Get Answers in the Essay Sample

What is Family? "Family is related to its root in the Latin word by the Romans 'Familia'. The Roman Familia was everyone in the household: legitimate children, adopted adults, secretaries, and other dependents." In other words, Family has many different human members and family is a word with diverse meaning. Some people even consider pets as family. Which family structure best fits modern society? In the 1950s, many people first thought that the best family is a nuclear family. Today, the definition of the idea of family is not limited to the nuclear family anymore because the best family function is the one that fits into the lifestyle of an individual or more specifically the family members. The idea behind the family is love and other family values such as respect, loyalty, unwritten family beliefs, and the acknowledgment that family comes first no matter what. The ideal family is one where everybody feels loved and accepted, people voice their opinions freely be they children or adults, and the parents work together to raise their children to be productive people of society.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

In the twenty-first century, there are many family dynamics. Sometimes couples divorce, but still participate in the raising of their children. Children stay with both parents for a certain duration after set intervals. Also, the parents could be remarried so there are step-parents and step-siblings somewhere in there. It does not matter the setting of the family, the number of people involved in it. For example, divorced parents offer an extended sort of family which is good for socialization, cooperation and inventiveness in the family unit. Anything challenging is good especially for growing children who in the future will need to be inclusive and open regarding what is acceptable in society. In the 1950s, people thought the perfect nuclear family was the realization of the American dream. Many families wanted to have the perfect family but what is the perfect family? The perfect family is the television sitcoms in the 1950s, "A father sitting before his morning coffee while mother buttered the toast. [Kids] woke to glasses of fresh orange juice. They hurried through the day making new friends and gobs of money, returning home to a warmly lit living room and then dinner"(22). In other words, the perfect family is a working father, a stay at home mom and two well-behaved children. These are the most common aspects that society relates to a typical nuclear family in the present world. Why is it that people equate the nuclear family with the American Dream? The reasons had to do with 1950s prevailing conditions with economic opportunity and government aid; nuclear families had top priority. Most of the people at that time are veterans from the first and second World Wars. The government will help them to "restore the job programs and family subsidies of that era." Therefore, people say the 1950s is the golden age for the family. These people are usually conservatives with age-old family ideals. The 1950s version of the perfect nuclear family is no longer the case in the twenty-first century.

Over the last several decades, Gay Marriages have been a big topic in public. Same-sex marriages (between either lesbians or gays) are legal in many states now. The gay (or lesbian) couple usually adopts children or one, or indeed both, of them decides to either sire or bear children. The intricacies of gay families are not understood in detail. People are learning to respect how people without necessarily asking all the difficult questions. It is a liberal democracy, and it is within the rights of gay people to have families and raise children of their own. Conservatives have of course been against the legalization of gay couples, but in a liberal democracy, they will have to accept gay people being legally married and raising families. There is still have some people don't accept gay family because less than 40 years ago, doctors considered homosexuality as a mental disease.. A lot has changed in forty or so years regarding gay families. In the 1950s it was unthinkable for gays to be open about it. In the twenty-first century, there is a whole community, the LGBT community. Gay families exist; they have raised children who have become productive people in society. Gay couples raise children and support their dreams even more closely than straight parents. Sexuality is a non-factor as regards family relationships. Children from gay families may benefit from the examples the parents provide. In addition to accepting others, they also learn to accept themselves. Homosexual parents may teach their children that being different is not bad; that it is important to develop one's own identity and not conform to what society tells us we should be. Children learn that they do not have to hide anything from their parents because they can identify and are, therefore, more understanding.

The quality of the family does not base on the family structure or function.

The nuclear family is " 'Traditional,' but the reason it is a traditional relationship is that it is fundamentally natural." On the most part, a man is naturally attracted to women and vice versa. Biologically, men and women are attracted to one another to mate and produce offspring. However, families are not biological entities. Traditional-family advocates' main argument is that gay parents influence their children to become gay themselves. The assertion has since been debunked as it is false. Many studies have proven that gay parents raise their children to become whoever they want to be, the same as any other type of family, the nuclear family. An additional advantage for children

There are three main arguments in refutation to these claims. First, studies show that children experience much fewer stigmatizations than most people believe. Now that homosexuality has become more accepted, children, as well as their parents, are less homophobic. Second, when children are stigmatized, evidence shows that they are more likely to stand up for themselves because they become stronger and more independent. Third, courts that deny gay adoption on the basis that the child will be stigmatized are only adding to the prejudice and discrimination. They are indirectly saying that it is acceptable for stigmatization of gays to occur, but it is not acceptable for parents to knowingly subject children to it. People who perpetuate these stereotypes and negative attitudes also believe that gay parenting will break down the traditional family. They see gay families as a threat to the status quo and traditional values and seem to be blind to the fact that the traditional family has already been transformed.It was my routine to go and visit my grandparent each Sunday. As a Sunday routine, I went to visit my grandparents to have a good time with them as usual and also assist them in doing a few chores in the home. During the Sunday visit I opened the door, and as I entered the house, I was greeted by emptiness and silence which indicated that human beings were no longer living there. It felt stupid finding myself in such a situation. I forgot that my grandparents pass away a few weeks ago. Based on my Asian background, it is inappropriate to take parents to a senior or nursing home since children are supposed to take care of their elderly parents. I become a nuclear family, but this is not my ideal family structure. Traditional Chinese culture prefers big family. My parent also likes a big family but base on my home condition we cannot afford to take care of my grandparents. That is the reason; my grandparent decided to go to a senior home a few years ago. The decision to go to this facility was because they did not want to stress their child by taking care of them.

The current generation of China prefers to take their elderly parents to a senior or nursing home because the nuclear family is their ideal type. There are three reasons as to why people prefer to do it. First, they believe that these facilities provide better care for their elderly parents. Secondly, most people prefer to live with their nuclear family as opposed to living with the extended family which is always large than they desire. Thirdly, some older adults prefer to be in the senior homes since they do not want to stress their children regarding taking care of them and therefore, they can decide to take themselves in the facilities.

I believe that living in a senior home is not the best option since the old face various challenges in these homes. For instance, seniors witness their counterparts passing on which is a situation that causes them to feel abandoned, old and hopeless. Elderly persons require greater attention compared to other age groups due to their old age, illnesses or disability. Dealing with these conditions requires compassion and love which may not automatically be available at the nursing home. Many Asian believe that taking their parents to the best nursing homes would ensure that they are receiving the best care. However, it is difficult for most people to afford to take their elderly parents to the best nursing homes since they are expensive. It could be better if a person has enough money to leave the elderly to stay at home and avail professional day care services. This problem mostly affects the middle class since the rich will not take their elderly parents to nursing homes since they can afford to build one for themselves. On the other hand, the poor cannot afford the services of a nursing home.

Living with elderly parents has repercussions since conflicts can result causing disharmony in the home environment. On the other hand, taking elderly parents to nursing homes also has some consequences. There is a risk of losing the elderly while they are in nursing homes which can cause a lot of regrets. There is a traditional Chinese word "Xiao"(filial piety), it means to return the favor to the parents This " Xiao" word contain another character means "child." Parents need a child to take care of them. There is a deeper meaning in this word. It is made of myriad regrets. We don't want to cause the regrets in the future. Therefore, we should not abandon our traditions of the family. However, people might argue that some older adults choose to live in nursing homes so their personal lives away from their children. The truth is the generation of my present don't know how to have their personal life, because they live in a communist society. Communist society only teaches them how to work for the country. My parents have made a lot of sacrifices for their children, and it is the role of children to take care of their parents when they are weak, sickly and old. I, therefore, believe that children should take care of their parents when they are old since they will require the same help when they reach that age. The ideal type of family is not a nuclear family which only contain a father, mother, and child.

"A father sitting before his morning coffee while mother buttered the toast. [Kids] woke to glasses of fresh orange juice. They hurried through the day making new friends and gobs of money, returning home to a warmly lit living room and then dinner"(22). These are the most prevalent aspects that society relates to a typical nuclear family in the present world. Most individuals were brought up in a traditional nuclear American family "a breadwinner-father and housewife-mother and a couple of kids, maybe a dog and a spacious suburban home."(17) The nuclear family was considered the ideal form of family in the 1950s, but in today's world, there has been a significant transformation in the family structure that has led to the reduction of the nuclear family.