Social institutions like family help with the influencing separate but also groups like communities and societies. Family can be considered as the primary representative of socialization, in addition family is also the first establishment through which people grasp an understanding of social behavior, expectations, and roles.
Just like a society as a whole, family as an institution is not steady. It can change along with the community, and as a household and as family construction changes, so does society; to me this is a push and pull effect. As soon as a person is born, they are related to that family up until the death of the said person; participating in the delight and dejection of the individual. The presence of a family plays an important role in child development and again is existent in all human factions. Within families, there is a blood relation, and there are sexual relations between men and women. These are the common relationships within a family and are steady because of the foundation and establishment as an institution.
This is the reason why we should not be promoting what is called a “traditional” family in society and just what that family would consist of; a mother, a father, and some siblings because not every family is mapped out. If someone were to gather a bunch of people, or go around asking whoever they see what a family is comprised of, you would ultimately get copious amounts of variations from those who are defining what their definition of family is and none of them can be considered wrong. We can all agree that we have seen over and over again, what a “traditional” family is, take cartoons like The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, and even the classic family sitcoms like Full House, Malcom in the Middle etc., That everyone has their own ideas on family and another family shouldn’t ill repute the other due to their dynamics. I also believe that their shouldn’t even be a “common standard” that a family(ies) should be held against.
For instance, a child with two dads would consider that a normal family, the same goes for a child who has one parent or, two moms to all of them their individual families are normal, and who’s to say that they aren’t? Take the show Modern Family for instanced, a perfect example of a non standardized family. Not only do you witness homosexuality in the family but, there is also a multiethnic marriage including children; representing the many different ways a family is composed of. I consider American Dad in this category as well all because of Roger and the goldfish Klaus, because let’s be honest who do you know who has an alien that is apart of their family. More “traditional” families would be for example, Family Guy, this cartoon is slightly more in accordance to society’s issues and has a coarse way of putting a funny twist on the issues that we currently deal with and face in modern day society. The main focus I’m getting at is that, the world changes and will continue to change and we need to start changing with it, try to make people who aren’t comfortable or have never felt comfortable because they don’t fit society’s, “norms”, and “standards”. They should and need to feel comfortable with who they are, how they identify themselves, and how they express it; in order to have a stable and well functioning society we need to have everyone in it take part of it so that it is productive and not destructive.
The first step to this, is of course communication. Communication is key in life itself and is one of the highest tier of machinery in are arsenal. However, even though we have it we don’t use it to it’s full capability, in any relationship communication is key and very important. The communication between a child and their parent however, is considered one of the most important relationships someone can have. A child, should feel comfortable in their own home and also comfortable with their parents to where they can tell them anything that is happening to them and whats going on in their mind. A child should be able to call home a safe space and feel comfortable in that space. Another reason, on why communication is important is that, kids also need to educated on the importance of acceptance, and accepting others around them in despite of their differences. They should also be taught to treat everyone equally and with respect even if they have a disability, a different sexuality, a insider themselves a different gender, etc., When we ignore different types of groups and different types of people, they pick up on what we are doing and think it’s right because they see others doing it and ignoring the many different types of groups does not make them go away but again influences our kids to do so because they think it’s right.
Once a child knows they are able to go to an adult, regardless if it is their mother, father, aunt, uncle, etc., about any issue they may be having, whether it is bullying, just to talk, school, etc., they will most always do so. When children feel heard, appreciated, accepted, etc., they will continue to keep the lines of communication open. Just having the ability to be able to go to someone may be a great deterrent to something bad. Not everyone has someone they can lean on and that can have lasting and detrimental effects.
The Art of Communication also works in behavioral correction, even though a child’s behavior begins at their household, as the kids grow they must learn on their own in the world as well. Sometimes they may be exposed to the negative behaviors and actions that we have to step in and correct for them and give them an explanation on why this is wrong. There are also books, that one can read that aid in helpful and effective communication between parent and child, that involve the many issues that yet have to be solved, and discussed about; these books are also made for specific ages.
Instructing children on how people are people should be the number one subject, we teach them, what matters the most to a person is who they are, and how they treat those who are around and closest to them. Others, may help along the way with their benefactions that you may or don’t make towards your household and ultimately to the community. Teaching are kids on how it’s not okay to judge other people based on ethnicity, looks, clothes, their families, etc., Is a lesson that should be thoroughly taught. This will help our children to grow into respectful adults who respect anyone and everyone around that are deserving of this respect. In addition it will make them do a double take on judging someone on their outer exterior, thus making them acknowledge that no one can fall under just one category, and that the world is a kaleidoscope. No one on this earth is better than the next person, we all deserve equal respect regardless of our skin color, ethnic background, education, etc., If we can’t learn about each other and neglect each other, thinking that we should all be in our own lunch tables, then we have a long way to go, and at the rate we are going now it doesn’t seem like we’ll ever reach a goal or ever come together as a better community.
