Conceptions of Good Family Life Among Three Generation of Nigerians: Implications for Family Development

Abstract

The family is the building block of all human societies. It is a fundamental social institution which acts a foundation for the conception and orientation of human beings. The typical characterization of family life in the past runs follows: in the earlier period family members interacted more intensely they were much more involved in each others lives they did things together for recreation and pleasure and the conventional values and morality were clearly transmitted from the parents to the children. The modern family on the other hand is often characterized one in which family members rarely talk with one another in which each family member pursues his or her own recreational and occupational activities. In earlier times the father of the family often was more patriarchal and authoritarian. The interaction between him and his wife was not between equals nor were his relations with his children characterized by equality. When the family of the past found time for recreational activities the men usually interacted with other men the women with women and the children with their peers. In the modern family there is less role differentiation. Many parents today strive to treat their children as people more or less equal to themselves. They usually organize most family activity around what they think their children want to do. (excerpt)