The traditional nuclear family and other types of families

The traditional nuclear family has been the predominant one in history, but in today’s world we find a number of family typologies that did not exist before but that are a reality and we must know them.

In this article we will try to address a fairly complex topic in a simpler way, the types of families (for example the traditional nuclear family) and their impact on homeschooling.

First things first: family

A general definition of family tells us that this is a group of united people, who live together and are generally linked by blood relations, that is, individuals related to each other.

Although, as we will see later, not necessarily in the family all are united by blood ties, but there may be other reasons why a group of people is considered the family of an individual.

Others even defend the idea that it is not necessary for all family members to live together for it to be considered a form of social organization.

The family is the basis of society and has a very relevant importance because it is there where values ​​and coexistence are learned, and it is the social and affective starting point of the individual.

Everyone lives in a different family and for each person their definition of family may be different. The important thing is that regardless of the situation, you feel welcome in one of them.

Types of families

There are many types of families, the traditional ones and the new ones that have emerged in recent times, as a result of social, cultural, economic and political conditions which have been the object of the reconfiguration of the family as it had been known until now.

Next, we will mention each type of family and try to describe them:

Traditional nuclear family

It is the most traditional family unit and is made up of parents (father, mother) and children, it is also known as the conjugal nuclear family. 

It is called a traditional nuclear family because it consists of a single nucleus but it stops being called that when the parents die, separate or the children become independent and form their own family.

In other words, the nuclear family has a transitory character and is only called that when it is made up of parents and children. Example: a father, a mother and two small children.

In recent years, this type of family has reduced itself, even current families of this type are considered a reduced nuclear family since the average number of children of these couples is one or a maximum of two children. , very different from the large families of a few years ago.

The nuclear family advantages and disadvantages

As in any system, the nuclear family has its advantages and disadvantages that we will mention from our perspective:

Advantage:

• Autonomy and independence of parents to make decisions
• Coherence in raising children, since the fact of living together fosters spaces and generates teamwork to reach agreements and rules in coexistence, discipline and parenting.
• Very strong bonds of love are developed between the members of the family, which increases support, joint problem solving, accompaniment, resilience and emotional health for all.

Disadvantages:

• In many cases, both parents must or want to work, thus delegating many responsibilities to other people or caregivers, which can negatively influence the upbringing of children.
• Sure, there will be other pros and cons to the nuclear family, however, we wanted to outline the ones we think are most important from a homeschooling perspective.

Single parent family

It is the family made up of the mother or the father and the children, that is, only one of the parents is part of it. It is one of the most common family structures today in Latin America. 

The single-parent family can occur due to the death of one of the parents, separation between them or single mothers or fathers, where one of the parents is totally responsible for their children and the other parent is totally absent.

Some call it a single-parent nuclear family, but it is a misconception due to what we have already explained about the nuclear family.

However, other studies indicate that when the parents are separated but both assume co-responsibility for the upbringing and maintenance of the children, it is considered to be a nuclear family in a situation of single parenthood.

Recomposed family

It is the type of family that is formed as a product of separated parents with children, who form another family. In turn, the new heads of families may have children of their own. As they say out there in relation to children, “yours, mine and ours”.

In this family structure, the concept of stepbrothers, stepchildren and stepfathers is lived.

This type of family is becoming quite common due to the increase in divorces and the return to form another family with other couples.

Multinuclear family

The multinuclear family is also known as the extended family or extended family and is made up of several families.

That is, they are families where there are several family nuclei, for example, where in addition to the nuclear family there are grandparents or uncles or cousins ​​with their respective children.

The multinuclear family is large and can represent a series of challenges and advantages for its members.

For example, children can grow up with the support of their relatives when their parents work, however, the economic factor can be difficult when living with so many people, in addition to greater conflict in decision-making.

Adoptive family

It refers to families that carry out legal procedures to obtain guardianship of a minor to whom they want to offer better living conditions and exercise the role of adoptive parents.

There are some other types of families such as families without children, homoparental families, extended families, families of separated parents and even families made up of a single person (unipersonal).

The impact of families on children’s education

As we well know, the family plays a fundamental role in the social, psychological and affective development of the child. These aspects directly impact the child’s education, their way of learning, their way of functioning in society.

The family is the child’s support to help him cope with his inconveniences, create learning experiences, generate an adequate environment for motor and intellectual development.

If the family group that the child has is dysfunctional, has serious problems, abuse, lack of love, misunderstanding, lack of authority, lack of respect among its members, the child will absorb all this and will reflect it in his way of learning and in your life in general.

With the respect that we all deserve, I dare to say that the traditional nuclear family, which has lasted for many years, has given society incredible men and women, with strong values, with well-founded authority, with respect for others; obviously it also has its flaws like any social structure.

But today, we are living in families without authority, without values, without clear responsibilities, and most importantly, without love. We are seeing homes where the child is in charge and not the parents, we are seeing a crisis of values ​​never seen before.

We do not judge families different from the traditional nuclear family, because we do not know the reasons why their conformation is like this and not like that. However, if we are seeing a serious problem not only with the education of children, but with their values, beliefs and behavior in general.