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Part Five Dimensions of Families
Your role expectations for your future family are likely to be
influenced by the roles played in your family today. If both of your
parents work, for instance, you may be more likely to share the nurturing
and provider roles in your future family. Your future
family role responsibilities may also be affected by
• career choice
• changes in economic conditions (resulting, for
example, in unemployment)
• social change (resulting, for example, in wartime
conditions)
In all relationships, it is important to understand
people’s role expectations. If you decide to marry
someone with different role expectations, the two of you
will need to decide how you will share responsibilities.
Each of you may need to alter your views in order to
meet the needs of all family members.
Functional and Dysfunctional Families
Families operate as a system or team. In a functional family, all
family members fulfi ll their roles and responsibilities. If one or more
family members do not fulfi ll their responsibilities, the system may
become out of balance, and the family may become a dysfunctional
family. A parent who leaves the family with no thought for their ability
to function on their own throws the family system out of balance. A
teen who rebels and refuses to cooperate can create problems for the
entire family. When family members fulfi ll each others’ needs and
treat each other with affection and respect, the family will sustain its
functioning base.
Characteristics of Strong Families
Strong families are crucial to a nation’s well-being. Parents have a
primary obligation to raise their children to be responsible, caring, and
contributing members of the community. The community, in turn, has the
responsibility to help support families. Families do not exist in a vacuum.
Strong, healthy families have many characteristics in common.
In today’s strong families, members communicate and listen to each
other, 14-3. They listen responsively. They pay attention to nonverbal
communication, particularly when there is silence. Family members
may express disagreements, but they recognize the importance of
respectful communication.
Nanny
Nannies are child care
specialists who provide full-
time care for children in the
employer’s home. Duties may
vary, but nannies generally
tend to the basic needs of the
children, including preparing
bottles, changing diapers,
keeping children entertained,
and doing laundry, shopping,
and cooking.