Family Essay: Advantages and Disadvantages of Family Types

This essay examines the contrasting dynamics of nuclear and joint family structures. It highlights the advantages of smaller, nuclear families, such as increased privacy, stronger parent-child bonds, and more focused parenting. The essay contrasts these with the potential drawbacks of larger, joint families, including financial constraints, logistical challenges in organizing activities, and potential conflicts. The author argues that the modern lifestyle favors nuclear families, emphasizing the importance of individual space and quality time for family members. The essay references several studies that support the author's perspective, discussing the impact of family structure on various aspects of life, including children's academic achievements and overall well-being. The essay concludes by acknowledging the benefits of large families, but asserts that these can also be achieved in nuclear families through regular interactions with extended family members.

Running head: ESSAY ON FAMILY
ESSAY ON FAMILY
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1ESSAY ON FAMILY
Families are an important part of every human’s life since the moral values and sense of
right and wrong is first received from family. A child imitates whatever he/she sees and thus they
imitate whatever they see in their family members. Families exist either in large numbers or just
a small and nuclear manner (Sear, 2016). Both kinds have their own benefits and disadvantages;
however, I think that smaller families are better rather than having joint or extended families in
the present days.
Nowadays, people can rarely find joint families around them and there is a reason why
people these days prefer to have their own family and their own space. The most important
reason is privacy that people in the present days seek the most in their life due to the change of
lifestyle that has presided over the world (Thompson & Schrodt, 2015). Moreover, there is also
an issue in terms of financial status, since large families tend to have large expenses. There is
also the trouble of organizing outdoor activities for the whole family and hence the family
members rarely get some quality time to bond over; this is the reason why conflict arises within
family members and a cold war exists within the house. This type of ambience in a home is not
good for the children or any other member of the family. On the other hand, smaller families
mostly include parents and their children, hence the first and foremost advantage that arises is
that parents and children get to spend more time together that strengthens their bond. Members
of a nuclear family have the option to be the kind of person they want in accordance of their own
will (Allendorf, 2013). In a large family, it is seldom noticed that when any member is facing
certain trouble, every member impose their solution and try to solve it instead of the person who
actually is in problem; however, nuclear family might lack in such huge support, but they acquire
the strength of solving their own problems with the support of their parents. It also makes a
person to avoid the dilemma of choosing any one of the solutions provided by the entire family.
Parents of a nuclear family will have more consistency when it comes to raise their children; they
would teach them the appropriate discipline and behaviour without the interference of the other
family members, who might intervene when they see a child being taught in such strict manners
(Bilal et al., 2013). Nuclear families have more time and opportunities to bond together over
dinner on a daily basis and this quality adds to the consistency. Moreover, children get more
privacy to study properly and academic achievements are met better since they are able to
concentrate better in a quiet place.
Larger families have a lot of advantages and help in shaping children’s personality by
making them more friendly and supportive, but that can also be done in a nuclear family, where
children can be taught to respect the other family members when they visit them once in a while.

2ESSAY ON FAMILY
References:
Allendorf, K. (2013). Going nuclear? Family structure and young women’s health in India,
1992–2006. Demography, 50(3), 853-880.
Bilal, H. A., Tariq, A. R., Aleem, U., Shabbir, S. I., & Parveen, M. (2013). The effect of nuclear
and joint family systems on academic achievements of students. Academic Research
International, 4(5), 543.
Sear, R. (2016). Beyond the nuclear family: an evolutionary perspective on parenting. Current
Opinion in Psychology, 7, 98-103.
Thompson, P. A., & Schrodt, P. (2015). Perceptions of joint family storytelling as mediators of
family communication patterns and family strengths. Communication Quarterly, 63(4),
405-426.