Essay on Functions of Modern Nuclear Family – The modern nuclear family continues to stay because of the essential functions that it performs even today. Those essential functions are explained below.
1. Stable Satisfaction of Sex Need:
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The modern nuclear family continues to be the executive means of providing sexual satisfaction to its members. No other agency has been able to take up this task to the satisfaction of the members.
The family does this task through its agent- the marriage. Though pre-marital sex relations are on the increase especially in the West, they are still treated as ‘deviant trends’ or stray instances.
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2. Procreation and Upbringing of Children:
The modern family still fulfils the functions of procreating and upbringing of children. The family is regarded as the “proper” authority to produce children and to bring them up. Even today most of the children are born and brought up in the family one Family alone is well equipped to produce and bring up children.
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This function has been associated with family since centuries. It continues to be the biological group for procreation and for the physical care of the children.
3. Socialisation of Children:
The modem family still remains as the main architect of socialising the new born child. The child develops a ‘self’ and a personality of its own mainly in its family. Most of the social norms, values and ideals are picked up by the child in the family only. Parents are showing more interest now-a-days giving proper social training to their children.
4. Provision of Home:
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The modern family provides for its members house to live in. Due to economic and other exigencies, family members may go out for some time but they spend much of their time in the home itself. It is a happy place to live in both for parents and their children.
It still continues to be the noblest centre of human affection, love and sympathy. Other agencies such as hotels, hostels, lodging houses, etc., may provide shelter to the members, but not the needed love and affection. Only the home can provide permanent homely atmosphere for its members.
The general view of the modern nuclear family is that it is not a highly ritualised and institutionalised entity. It is rather what Burgess has called “a unit of interacting personalities set in a cultural framework, responsible for a limited number of social functions and for a biological function “.
It is held together by internal cohesion rather than external pressure. It is more unstable than what it was in the past. Still it is more free to fit the variations in human personality.