THE 10 MOST IMPORTANT FAMILY ROLES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Among the functions of the family are the protection, sustenance and the impulse for the development of individuals. It is the primary social institution made up of people related by blood or emotional ties.

Within the family the individual develops from its earliest stages, and acquires the tools to discover and exploit their talents and capabilities.

The family is the first instance of transmission of ideologies and cultural inheritances in a society. In fact, it is also the first instance of socialization that a person encounters.

The traditional family model includes a heterosexual couple with one or more children. However, this model has been changing and today there are different constitutions: single parents, second marriages, multiple cohabitation, homosexuals, among others.

In the origins of human history, this traditional family model was not possible due to the characteristics of the population at that time.

There was a primitive model of coexistence in which polygyny (a man with several women) and polyandry (a woman with several men) were natural.

Over the years, the union between people with consanguineous ties was prohibited, not only for cultural reasons but also to prevent the appearance and spread of diseases and syndromes.

The 10 main functions of the family

Elements such as the emergence of different types of families, the incorporation of women into work and technological advances have caused changes in the family structure.

These changes also transform the roles of each member of the family and the functions that each must fulfill within it.

However, every family as a social unit fulfills the following functions:

1- Identification function

Within the family an individual discovers and establishes his own identity as a person and as being sexed.

Also, learn what are the behavior patterns that are linked to their identity.

2- Educating function

This function is related to the previous one and refers to the formative role of the family nucleus. It is in the family where the individual learns to speak, walk and behave, among other learning.

In fact, it is normal to hear in educational institutions that they require family support in order to fully comply with their mission of educating people.

This function has as its critical term the individual's early childhood. At that moment is when the fundamental knowledge for its development in society is established. After that, education plays a reinforcing role for these learnings.

3- Communication function

The educational function is related to a communicative function, because it teaches the individual the signs, symbols and codes necessary to make themselves understood in the society in which they live.

This communication function is important because it affects the way in which the individual will relate to their peers.

4- Socializing function

As in the case of education, this is a shared function between the family and educational institutions. It is related to the development of the ability to interact with others.

Socializing implies being linked intellectually, emotionally and even economically with other people, and for this, certain behavioral guidelines must be met. That is, people adapt to the social demands of the environment in which they grow up.

It is a function that directly affects the survival of a social system or order, since it is transmitted from generation to generation.

5- Function of cooperation and care

A family is also the first instance of safety and protection for a person. The human life cycle itself demands that there be other individuals of the same species taking care of the smallest and most defenseless.

The family nucleus is in charge of providing shelter and food to its members, especially the youngest.

In fact, it is believed that the human being is one of the species that is born more vulnerable to diseases or to the attack of a predator. For this reason, family protection becomes a vital need.

Likewise, each member of the family is expected to contribute to the care and growth of others. This contribution can be economic, affective, educational, among others.

Family support is born from the feeling of belonging that its members have. Knowing that they share beliefs, projects and affections makes them get involved and feel responsible for each other.

6- affective function

Although it does not appear first on this list, it is one of the basic functions of the family because people require food for their bodies and, almost to the same extent, affection and affection.

The human being is nourished by that affection that he receives in the family, he learns to feel it for others and to express it.

The way in which emotions are expressed in the family affects the way in which people will handle their emotions in other environments: work, school, community, among others.

7- Economic function

Living as a family implies that its members must contribute to the productive forces of their society. It also implies that they must consume goods and services. In this way, the economic machinery of nations is kept active.

In addition, it is in the family where the person learns economic notions such as budgeting, savings, accounts payable, investments, expenses and other concepts.

8- Reproductive function

Another of the basic functions of a family is to preserve the species through the reproduction of its members.

But in addition to biological reproduction, there is also cultural reproduction through the socializing work of the family.

9- Normative function

In the family the individual acquires his first frame of reference on the rules and regulations that he must comply with.

Each family establishes its own rules and norms of behavior to maintain harmony among the members of its household.

These norms also facilitate relationships between members of a society, since they clearly delineate individual roles and the way in which authority is perceived.

10- Emancipatory function

The family is the one that offers the sense of independence and autonomy necessary for the proper development of people's lives. In the family the individual understands the limits between dependence and independence.

In this nucleus are the tools that favor the growth and maturation of the individual, which will make them fit to go on their own within society.

References

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