Family
In human context, a family (from Latin: familia) is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity (blood relative, descending from a common ancestor), affinity (by marriage), or co-residence/shared consumption (see Nurture kinship).
Definition
Members of the immediate family may include a spouse, parent, brother and sister, and son and daughter. Members of the extended family may include grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, nephew and niece, or sibling-in-law.
In most societies the family is the principal institution for the socialization of children. As the basic unit for raising children, anthropologists most generally classify family organization as matrifocal (a mother and her children); conjugal (a husband, his wife, and children; also called nuclear family); avuncular (for example a brother, his sister, and her children); or extended family in which parents and children co-reside with other members of one parent's family. As a unit of socialization, the family is the object of analysis for anthropologists and sociologists of the family.
Family is also an important economic unit studied in family economics.
Genealogy
Genealogy is a field which aims to trace family lineages through history.
Family values
Family values are beliefs, ethics, priorities, and worldviews shared by each family member. These behavior codes create structure in families and can define each member’s role. They also help families cope with difficult challenges and determine right from wrong in complex situations. These shared principles can impact many areas of a family’s life, including:
- Daily activities
- Disciplinary techniques for children
- Division of chores
- Education
- Finances
- Parenting styles
- Relationships
- Religion
- Rituals[1]
