Free Essay: The Family Structure That My Family Resembled

According to Mason (2011), a family structure is defined by its composition. There are several different forms of family structures. For example, a nuclear family structure which comprises of father, mother and their children. An extended family structure, on the other hand, contains mature adults who have the same family backgrounds residing together in one place (Toman, 1993). In the nuclear family, the parents are the ones who provide the family with their basic needs. However, in an extended family, there is a conjoint provision of both food and other necessities required in the household.

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Based on the structures presented by Mason (2011), I would classify my family to have a nuclear structure. It comprises both Parents that are a father and a mother and my siblings. Growing up, the parents were responsible for the provision of food and other necessities in the house for all. They are also responsible for ensuring that our safety is guaranteed. Growing up in a nuclear family structure enhanced my relationship with my parents and my siblings because they were the only people around in my childhood life.

How my interactions with my siblings affected my development

Siblings often have a great influence on individuals' growth and development (Bloom, 2005). The first people a person interacts in games and communication with are one's brothers and sisters. As a child, childhood rivalry was evident in our interactions. However, the fights for small things in the family like attention played a major role in influencing my growth. My parents always solved our childhood fights with moral lessons obtained at the end of the quarrels.

The values of sharing and caring for each other developed from the interactions we had. I became better equipped with knowledge of how to deal with other people in society. As a young adult, I learned from my brothers and sisters how to interact with the outside world. Their love and encouragement propelled me to aim for better performance in both academics and life skills. Having, siblings as role models and personal motivators impacted my growth immensely because I always struggled not to let them down.

Relationship with parents and how it affected love and commitment

Growing up with both parents is the world's best gift. My relationship with my parents has shaped me into the person I am today. Learning through observation and mentorship from them instilled moral values of how a family should be. According to Bloom (2005), parents are the first teachers that a person gets. Therefore, having an open and friendly relationship with both played a major impact on love and commitment. It is from the parents that a person first learns the true meaning of love. Unlike in the traditional family set-ups where parents especially the father was more feared than loved, my parents are the ideal modern parents. They played a major role as confidants and I could share anything with them.

As a young adult, I observed how my father and mother interacted with each other. Apart from being a couple, they are also best friends. I learned that to build a relationship both romantic or pure friendship trust and partnership are very crucial. The kind of partnership they had in raising us up and in other parental life was admirable. Actions definitely speak louder than words because even without verbal teachings I was able to learn a lot from them.

As a young adult, the relationship I had with my parents shaped my views about friendship. The teachings I received both verbally and through observation is reflected in my friendship. I have maintained friendships based on trust, love, and partnership which were the virtues I witnessed from my parents when I was growing up. The moral values learned from them have taught me to treat others with respect if I expect to be treated well by them and that friendship is a two-way string.

Family aspects that I would like to be reflected in my relationship with spouse and children

I aspire to have a perfect family built on love and trust with my spouse. I would like to witness the kind of love that was always evident in my parent's faces for each other despite their long marriage period. Unlike in most relationships, today, where couples get tired of each other after their honey moon period, is over, I would like my family to be a happy one even when we have kids of our own. According to Bloom (2005), a child's environment and parental love are what make them human. I desire to instill the values that I received from my parents to my children to ensure that they grow up in a morally upright way. I would also like to implement the motivational talks I had with my parents to my kids.

Having an open relationship with my children is great teaching I will implement in my family. I want my kids to feel free sharing their personal life with me to devise the best ways of helping them. Most problems in society today develop from lack of parental guidance or absentee parenting. Therefore, I would like to have a lot of time with my family to ensure that we have maximum interaction. Growing up, my parents had to work much thereby having less family time. I would like to change that with my spouse and children to ensure that apart from providing for them I understand what they want in life.

References

Bloom, P. (2005). Descartes' baby: How the science of child development explains what makes us human. Random House.Mason, M. G. (2011). Adulthood and Aging. Boston, MA: Pearson

Toman, W. (1993). Family constellation: Its effects on personality and social behavior. Springer Publishing Company.