Defining ‘a family’ is not
so simple as most people might immediately assume; there are many forms of
family. In British society a basic family usually consists of a man and a woman
who have a steady relationship with each other and who also have children are
essential to the idea of ‘family’, but they need not necessary be
‘consanguine’- that is, related by blood to the adults with whom they live-
although they usually are. A simple group of this kind is called a ‘nuclear’
family. Nearly all ‘ nuclear’ families are related to one or more other
nuclear families through parent- child relationships; mother will often have
parents and brothers and sisters living and so will father. This family is
called the ‘extended family’ and can include all known relations.
A good definition of a
family was given by Burgess and Locke in their book. The Family (1953) – ‘The
family’ is a group of person united by the ties of marriage, blood, or
adoption; constituting a single household, interacting and intercommunicating
with each other in their respective social role of husband and wife, mother and
father, brother and sister; creating a common culture’; however this
definition is not sufficiently broad to cover all types of family.