Families are a form of social group brought about by marriage and procreation, and though they differ from one society to another, they basically consist of the same elements (Perry and Perry 278). The nuclear family is the norm in today's society because it is the form which best fits lifestyles in the urban industrialized societies which span most of the globe today. The nuclear family consists of a mother and father and their offspring. The extended families of earlier times, which still exist in many parts of the world where there is less urbanization and industrialization, includes grandparents, siblings and their children, aunts and uncles, etc. The decline in this type of family structure has been brought about by the fact that people are now more mobile, able to follow careers and educational goals which take them far from their extended family.
The family unit serves a number of functions, which include the regulation of sex, reproduction, socialization, and provision of companionship and affection (Perry and Perry 279-280). In all societies, sex is controlled in that sex outside marriage is not fully acceptable. This has changed somewhat in today's urban societies in which couples often live together outside the bounds of marriage and some even go a step further and procreate under these circumstances. However, most of society still does not condone these relationships. In regard to reproduction, in many societies a boy does not become a man until he fathers a child, and a girl does not become a woman until she bears a child. The main function of the nuclear family is to produce children and raise them, since without this function, societies would not endure.
Socialization of children is still a major responsibility of parents, although peer groups, schools, and religious institutions also make contributions in this regard (Perry and Perry 279). Since the extended family is no longer available to perform ...