Traditionally, for most people, family is very important.
The idea of the nuclear family seems to be the foundation of most modern societies, and men and women are typically urged by their peers and loved ones to live their life focusing on creating and maintaining a healthy family.
However, as cultures progress, times change, and more and more people are finding that they have different thoughts and opinions than their ancestors when it comes to building and maintaining a traditional family. Do you think family is important? Let’s explore some reasons why family is or is not important to most modern people.
In the traditional idea of the nuclear family, the woman stays at home to raise the kids while the man works.
Throughout the 20th century, many scholars and philosophers began to look on this tradition as biased against the woman, who may have other desires than to stay at home raising kids. These ideas gave way to modern feminism, which pushes for independence in all women, taking their main focus away from being bearers and raisers of children to being businesswomen and even leading politicians.
Obviously, as more and more women decide not to devote their lives to creating and raising families, the importance of the traditional nuclear family has dwindled slightly in the eye of modern society.
While there are still plenty of ways for modern families to function with both parents having full-time jobs, such as daycare or school, the traditional idea of the nuclear family has become far less prominent, resulting in families being less important to the average worldview in general than it used to be.
Financial prosperity.
On top of this, wealth doesn’t seem to be as easily attained as it was fifty years ago for the average person, and a couple of dollars will get you far less than what it used to. Given the current economic climate, a large family, or any family at all, is not a viable option for lots of people. Many people wish they could have a family, but can’t afford it, hoping to work towards a future in which they can.
Many people who do end up having families sometimes struggle a great deal when providing for said family, making the prospect of a family that much less appealing to others, especially the children being raised in such tough situations.
Environmental protection.
Another thing that has affected the importance of the nuclear family in modern times is the rise in environmentalism. Same as with feminism, the idea of greater importance put into our effect on the world around us grew significantly over the 20th century.
In the eyes of a lot of people, having a family is irresponsible given the current population crisis. As well, the number of children who are orphaned given the current political and socio-economic climate has created some stigma as far as having your own kids goes, many people who do have families thinking it is their responsibility to adopt.
Love is in our hearts.
Despite all this, it is inherent to our human nature to desire to create a family. Both men and women have an innate desire to spread their love, and to create children and foster a loving environment in which they can grow. Because of this, having a family will always hold some importance in the heart of all humans, no matter how they are conditioned by their culture or education.
While times are changing, and the idea of the traditional nuclear family has evolved and become many different things, we are still the same human beings we’ve always been, and our physiology makes us yearn to reproduce. As well, we need love.
Having a family can mean more than getting married and having kids, though.
We all have families, as we were all born from a mother and a father, and we all have our ancestry. Do you think family is important? Do you see your family every holiday? Do you find comfort and solace in the embrace of your mother? Just as the idea of the nuclear family has changed over time, so too has the number of children who do not even know their parents increased over time.
Nowadays, many children grow up without parents, as many parents give up their children out of fear of not being able to provide for them. This has led to the idea of the broken family, being the exact opposite of the nuclear family.
Many children are raised just by their mothers, or by aunts and uncles, or grandparents. Family can mean many different things, and when asking if family is important to you, you may not even realize how important your own family is to you.
Family variations.
Besides these different variations of families you could have, whether it is two dads, two moms, or none, a close group of friends can also be considered family too many. Humans are widely considered to be social animals, and they have a need in them to gain approval and acceptance from a known social group.
So while there may be plenty of people who feel the idea of the traditional nuclear family is outdated, these same people will usually have some “family” of their own, generally a family of close friends they can seek out for comfort and support.
Final information.
Regardless of how you look at it, do you think family is important? What are the key points? Do you desire to have a group of loved ones that you can depend on? Do you like for others to be able to depend on you? Do you value the idea of the traditional nuclear family, or do you prefer to be a part of a much more non-traditional family, whether that is a family with kids and adults or just a group of friends?
You enjoy seeing your relatives often and keeping in touch with them? However, you feel about the matter, it would be hard to argue that family isn’t a big factor in most human lives. Whatever you plan for the future, and whatever kind of family you may be a part of, hopefully this article has provided some food for thought, and good luck on your quest.
