Why Family Structure Is Important
The question “Why family?” is asked more frequently in these days of increased divorce rates, family-based health programs, and educational opportunities that are more distant from parents’ homes. A new wave of research suggests that families may be even more vital to child well-being than the current model of care provided by childminding centers.
Why family relationships are so important has been unclear. Researchers have been interested in understanding why family relationships are especially important for children in tough times, when most children do not benefit from being with both parents.
Some researchers think that the bonds created by a traditional family environment helps children adjust better to their surroundings than those formed with nontraditional care givers. Others think that family members provide emotional support that can help reduce stress and increase mental health.
Still, other researchers believe that biological differences between children and their parents account for why family relationships are so important and why some families do better than others. What’s currently known is that family members offer a unique type of connection and safety that is absent during childhood in most society.
Historically, family relationships shaped much of the social structure of Western society.
Parents provided the income and children got the shelter and food they needed. Grandparents provided security and children got moral guidance and education from their elders. When these relationships dissolved as families became modern, they left a void that eventually affected children’s attitudes and behaviors toward others and their relationship with their parents.
This research found that children whose parents spent time together formed stronger relationships and were more likely to become well-adjusted adults.
What researchers found is that children who have stable, loving and supportive relationships with their parents, were healthier, happier and had greater self-esteem than those who did not.
They were also less likely to develop serious health problems like allergies or diabetes later in life. Children in family bonds were also less likely to live in poverty. These are benefits that could trickle down to future generations. Overall, the study concluded that families with strong and loving connections were healthier and wealthier.
Children who grow up with stable and loving parents spend more time playing outdoors, outside the home and outdoors more often than those who do not.
They engage in physical activity regularly, have friends of their own and engage in extracurricular activities like sports and clubs. They also talk with their peers, engage in group activities and play games on a regular basis. These activities teach them the importance of teamwork, how to work together in a community and how to socialize with other children. By playing outdoors, they also learn how to protect themselves from the dangers of the environment.
The study found that children who spend time with their biological parents and biological grandparents (their grandparents rather than their natural parents) are more likely to have healthy relationships and low chances of living in poverty.
These relationships provide the most influence over a child’s happiness and behavioral patterns. Thus, parents who spend time with their children are important to them. Children who live with two divorced parents are less happy with their own marriages and more likely to experience violence in the family. Thus, the study concluded that the relationship between marriage and family is important and that families that have a stable and loving relationship are healthier and more likely to have happy and productive children.
The researchers found that families with a strong and loving relationship are happier and healthier. In addition, families with a healthy marriage have greater financial security and greater educational opportunities. The research revealed that happiness is not correlated with parental characteristics, but it is positively associated with the quality of relationships and family bonds in which children grow up.
Thus, the researchers found that why family bonds are important is because having a family bond strengthens a child’s mental health and his ability to identify himself as an individual.
What makes a family bond a good thing? When children grow up with parents who love each other and spend quality time together, they become emotionally stronger individuals who will be better equipped to deal with the harsh realities of life.
Happy and supportive family relationships has been known to prevent emotional abuse in which family members are emotionally and physically abused by family members. Thus, making family relationships important is very important in all walks of life, including the institution of marriage and family structures.