Nuclear, extended or single? (The family unit)

Member Name: tas1

Product:	The family unit
Date:	16/05/01 (491 review reads)
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What is the best enviroment in which to bring up a child? Which family unit is the best?

I grew up in a traditional nuclear family. There were my parents and brothers and sisters. We would see relatives but they had no influence on our up bringing. We turned out ok. I now have a 6 month old daughter, she is living in an extended family. This has both advantages and disadvantages. Firstly, one of the good things is that I get advice that is useful, secondly my daughter is quite social as she sees the family regularly. It is very nice having my mum close by because if I have a problem I can always ask her for advice.

However, there are also disadvantages, sometimes the parents don't want anyone influencing their childrens upbringing. They want to make decisions themselves.

The best thing about an extended family is that you get help. It is very difficult for a woman after having a baby. Both mentally and physically she is tired and it takes time to fully recover. Lack of sleep and catching up with household chores doesn't help. At this time having a helping hand can be a great thing. It helps the woman to recover quicker and may also prevent depression because she has people around that are willing to help and understand her. It can be very nice if someone plays with the baby while you take a nap.

But then there can be problems. People these days want privacy, they want space, they don't want intrusion or un-asked for advice. It can be annoying. So is the nuclear family the ideal set up? The extended family has its advantages, but then there are disadvantages too.

Lets move on to single parent families. No offence, but after having a baby, I know that its not easy and for someone totally on their own it must be very very hard. A single parent is a parent and most parents want the best for their child and will go to all extents to do the best for their child. I would just like to say that obviously it is easi
er with two parents, but then I would also say that it would be easier for the mother if se had a third person to help, so I guess it depends on the situation.

To conlude I would say that the type of family unit you live in depends on your circumstances, certain types are more suitable for certain people.

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