The concept of Family in modern societies

Dominatated by the brutal evolution of the contemporary societies, the individual finds himself disconected from the references he once knew to be true. The horizon of senses and beliefs must be found individually or inside small groups. Family and all the social structures are affected by the Secularization of the modern world. Diminishing the purpose of the Church and the shacking belief in God result in the degradation of the relationships between people, the disobedience to moral priciples, higher crime rate, corruption and so many other.

Before I prezent the evolution of the family in the context of the secularized society, I will state some of the factors that have led to the downfall of the traditional family and the values it once had. Firlstly, in the conditions given, a workschedule of about 8-10 hours per day even on Sundays (usually in private companies) respecting even the most elementary family related duties has become a difficult task. From family dinners, going to Church on Sunday, to spending time with our parents, children and relatives in general has become more of a luxury than an element of normality.

The family suffers the process of evolution through all the functions that it fulfills in society. Primary, the family is a “lifegiver”, children representing the continuation of our existance, our future demographic evolution and from a spiritual point of view, God’s will. Another key role that the family has to fulfill is the economic role. Inside the family, income is gathered, it is distributed for each person’s needs and so, parent raise their offsprings as well as they can.

To all of these, we can add the importance of the family in educating a child and forming his or her future personality. Popular Romanian wisdom speaks of the “seven years form home” which leave their fingerprint on everyone, throughout their lives. From a religious point of view, family is the shelter for its members and where the children discover the divine and human universes. Due to the lack of time, sometimes the role of educators that the parents have is taken by their grandparents, maybe even older brothers or sisters.

“Quality time” is defined as time in which one’s child, partner, or other loved person receives one’s undivided attention, in such a way as to strengthen the relationship. It is essential not to deprive our loved ones from the time and necessary attention and to substitute them with material attention such as money or gifts.

Furthermore, the sine-qua-non condition, the unity and love between the spouses, because we will never be able to offer a profound education to our children unless it is transposed into deeds, actions and so the concept of education will remain only on a theoretical level.

So beware, the temptation of modernization under any circumstances of the traditional education methods can have disastrous effects. We have to be aware and responsible, so that family life is not disrupted and we as individuals, do not withdraw one for the other.