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Effects of Social Change on the Nigerian Family

nts and siblings, the extended family incorporates one's other relatives as well. In the extended family, "all kinspeople are treated as close brothers and sisters rather than as distant relatives" (Schultz, 1988, p. 37).

Family traditions in Nigeria are based on the agricultural way of life which has long existed in the area. In the agricultural way of life, there is a need for cooperative effort among the people who work on the farms. As a result of this need, the extended family has become predominant in Nigerian society. In the extended family, relatives help each other out in time of need. In this way, the extended family provides an important support system for the people of Nigeria. Another family tradition in Nigeria is seen in the respect which is paid to the older members of the family. Respect for elders can also be found in the traditional forms of government which exist in various parts of the country. In the traditional village society, the older members are always in charge of running the affairs of the extended family group.

The extended family system in Nigeria has a number of important benefits in terms of raising children. For example, the system "provides automatic child care for working mothers and single parents" (Schultz, 1988, p. 37). Child care is further enhanced by another Nigerian family tradition known as "fostering." This is an aspect of the extended family concept in which the child is raised by other family members in addition to the biological parents. Fostering in Nigeria is usually beneficial to the children and to the family as a whole. Thus, it "often provides a greater measure of emotional security both for foster parent and foster child than is available even to biological parents and children" (Pittin, 1981, p. 176). Fostering benefits the foster parent by providing a helpmate and companion, and it benefits the child by providing "continuing parental care and a high degree o...

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Effects of Social Change on the Nigerian Family. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 05:30, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1702872.html