Roles of each Family Members

What is a family?

What is your role in the family?

What is a family?

Group Work

Discuss among your group the role or roles

you portray in your family.

What is a family?

The family is a basic unit of the society which consists of the husband, wife and their children. Each of these members has their assigned roles and responsibilities. Within a family, everyone assumes these roles. Talking about these roles and responsibilities, it is important to note the following key points:

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Understanding the Concept of FAMILY

What is a family?

Key Points

One of the most important responsibilities of a family is raising a child. It is the most challenging responsibility because the child has to be raised from childhood till he/she is old enough to take care of him/herself. 

What is a family?

Key Points

The family is also expected to educate and transmit the societal norms and culture to its offspring and also give them a position or status in life.

What is a family?

Key Points

The family provides emotional, psychological moral and material support to members. 

What is a family?

Key Points

The family has to ensure provision of physical security in terms of food, clothing, shelter and other needs to its offspring or other dependent individual members of the family e.g grandparents.

What is a family?

Key Points

However, tradition still believes in assigning specific roles to each family member.

Responsibilities of each Family Member

Examples of roles and responsibilities of each family member include:

Father

Provision of food, shelter and money for the family 

Making important decisions.

Mother

Preparing food and keeping the house in order 

Nurturing and raising the children, teaching the children morals and value

It is important to note that the above roles and any other traditional roles assigned to either parent could be performed by any of the parents. Indeed, both parents are to compliment each other in the performance of all these functions.

Children

• Obeying their parents • Assisting in performing household chores, particularly in the kitchen, garden, laundry, washing the car etc • Living up to family expectations • Getting good grades in school

Each of these roles is accorded a status. The status assigned to a particular role within the family reflects the values and beliefs of that family. The higher the status assigned to a role, the greater the authority, privileges and reward accorded to that role.

A source of roles,

responsibilities and

challenges for families!

THE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE

•A lifecycle is a series of stages families go through as the structure of the family changes.

•However, not every family follows the life cycle in order or description because each family is unique.

WHAT IS A FAMILY LIFE CYCLE

•Understanding the stages in the lifecycle of a family can help prepare parents and other family members for the challenges and demands each stage brings.

•In this stage, two people form a family unit separate from each one’s original family unit

•There are no children in this stage of the life cycle

STAGE 1: Beginning Family

•What challenges face the beginning family as they prepare for the parenting process?

•What roles may be assumed by the family members in this stage?

CHALLENGES

•During this stage, children are added to the family.

STAGE 2: Expanding Family

•What challenges face the expanding family as they begin the parenting process?

•How will roles change in the family when the first child is born?

CHALLENGES

•This stage begins when the last child starts school

STAGE 3: Developing Family

•What challenges face the developing family with children from ages 6-20 years?

•Will these challenges affect family roles?

CHALLENGES

• This stage begins with the departure of the oldest child and ends with the departure of the youngest child from the family unit.

STAGE 4: Launching Family

•This stage holds many challenges for families. What are some of them?

CHALLENGES

• This stage is sometimes called the “empty nest” stage, because the children have left the original family unit. This stage has parents with children who are now independent and living on their own.

STAGE 5: Aging Family

•What challenges would face parents in the empty nest stage?

•How do roles change for family members in this stage of the cycle?

CHALLENGES

•Do all families go through these stages?

•Are all families “nuclear” (two parents with children)?

•Do all families face the same challenges?

•How do roles change as the family moves through different stages?

LIFE CYCLE QUESTIONS

•What happens to parents’ roles when an older member of the family needs care?

•What happens to children’s roles as each sibling moves out to live independently?

•What happens when a child moves back in because of economic or emotional reason?

LIFE CYCLE QUESTIONS

•The family life cycle is one way to look at the roles and responsibilities of parenting.

•In ‘real life’, the life cycle may be a combination of several stages at one time!

Remember…