Outline and Explain Two Functions of the Family

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The first function of the family is the educational function which is one of the four theorised functions according to George Peter Murdock. The educational function is an important social institution as it allows parents to provide a stable environment where children can be socialised into the culture of their society. Talcott Parsons similarly identifies this as part of Primary Socialisation where children are essentially educated on the typical norms and values of a society. This means that from their parents, children can learn discipline, obedience, manners etc. Functionalists believe that it is functional in all families however they do not consider the darker side such as, domestic violence, neglect, which can drastically affect the educational function of the family as the child is not learning in a safe environment. Others would argue that many of the educational functions of family have been taken over by school, college and universities. This indicates that the majority of learned education does not come from the family though there are exceptions to this e.g. Home schooling. The economic functions of a family are important for society. Without family, a weak economic unit would be left with no stability or dependency. The family is important so that there are available members to produce and distribute goods and services. With working parents, the children can grow up to one day take their place. Children are in need of many products and services in the first moments of their lives. Parents must then be prepared to provide them with these needs. As they grow older, they are need of more things such as different clothes, different food, and education. This continues on until the child is eventually grown up to move out of the house and provide for their own needs as well as when they have their own family. As an economic unit, the family can sometimes

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