Extended Family Meaning
An extended family is also called a joint family or undivided family. It is a kind of family which includes parents, kids, grandparents and close relatives. This type of family has been existing in different parts of the world for centuries.
However, nowadays people prefer to live in small families like nuclear families, especially in urban societies.
Extended Family Examples
Suppose, you have a sibling and you live with your parents, then you have a nuclear family. However, if you live with your parents, grandparents, uncle, aunts, cousins and other close relatives, you live in an extended family.
In such a family, people live together, eat together, share responsibilities, pool resources and spend time together. The head of the family makes every decision by keeping everyone in the family in confidence.
How Is An Extended Family Different From A Normal Family?
Well, there are many family types, some of these are:
- Nuclear families
- Extended families
- Single-parent families
- Family without children
- Stepfamily
- Grandparent Family
We have already discussed nuclear and extended families, therefore we’ll talk about the remaining family types.
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Single parent families
In a single-parent family, kids are raised by a single parent, either mother or father. Due to circumstances like separation, abusive spouse, divorce and incompatibility, people choose to raise their children without their spouse’s support.
Also, in some cases, people choose to adopt children and raise them instead of marrying someone and carrying a child with them.
In such a family, parents devote most of their time and give more attention to their children in comparison to other family types. Furthermore, in a single-parent family, both parents and children learn to adapt together hence they become resilient.
In contrast, when it comes to work-life balance, it becomes tough for the full-time working parent to manage things. Therefore, they have to drop their kids at a daycare while they are at work.
Families without children
In this type of family, either couple choose to live without having a kid or they have some sort of medical condition due to which they can’t have a baby.
There can be other reasons for not having a kid in a family. For example, some couples don’t want to have kids at the beginning of their relationship as they want to grow and have it when they are more stable.
Additionally, instead of having a kid, couples in such a family choose to care for the children of their close relatives or keep a dog or a cat as a pet.
In such families, couples have more cosy time to spend together and they can save a lot of money. Also, they are free to travel, live the way they like and pursue their careers.
Whereas, in other types of families, when couples have children, they give proper care and attention to them.
Nonetheless, If a couple chooses to have a kid later on in their life, it is good for them. However, if a couple is unable to have a kid due to infertility or other issues, a life without children could be incomplete.
Stepfamily
It is a kind of family in which two separated couples or divorced couples come together to form a family. In a stepfamily, kids are biologically related to only one parent.
Sometimes, it becomes tough for both couples and kids to adjust in a stepfamily. Additionally, it is hard for couples to have full control of each other’s kids.
Grandparent Family
Due to reasons like separation, divorce, incompatibility, busy life, or death of parents, etc. Kids have to live with their grandparents, and therefore they are raised by them. Such families are known as grandparents’ families.
In this type of family, values and knowledge are imparted to the children from a very young age. Hence, they learn a lot of things besides developing traits like empathy, kindness, respect and care.
Nevertheless, issues like financial stability and controlling kids persist in such families. Moreover, it becomes difficult for them to look after their grandchildren when they become feeble due to age constraints.
Do you want to learn more? Read, 10 Reasons Why Family Is Important
My extended family
I also live in an extended family, and in my extended family, we live with 5 uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents. We pool resources, eat together, live in the same house and have a great time together.
However, quarrels over petty things, fights over financial issues and a lack of privacy are common issues.
On the other hand, our family is quite happy and stable. We love and enjoy being together and there’s no room for depression or loneliness.