What is the evolutionary benefit of living in a family? Evolution is not
just about survival of offspring, but the perpetuation of the species (survival
of offsprings' offspring). Therefore the family offers protection of women
and children so that they may successfully reproduce.
In our evolutionary past, 'the family' would of been our extended tribe.
We would live with mothers, fathers, grandparents, cousins, uncles, brothers,
sisters etc. This is quite different to modern family structures. How has
this change affected relationships, identity and education?
Ideas I would like to explore on this webpage are:
Different family structures around the world.
Extended families of our ancestors vs modern western family size (psychological
effects, bonding, child raising, monogamy, pregnancy).
Family and Society, Religion, Control of Women.
The Open Directory has links to quality sites on Babies, Grandparents, Large Families, Multiple Births, Parenting, Adoption, Child Health, Childcare, Death, Divorce, Foster Care, Home Schooling, Marriage, Pregnancy, Run Aways, Christian Families, Genealogy and Law.
The Open Directory:
Family Websites
http://www.dmoz.org/Home/Family/
From the website: 'Family denotes a domestic group of people, or a number of domestic groups linked through descent (demonstrated or stipulated) from a common ancestor, marriage or adoption.
The structure of families traditionally hinges on relations between parents and children or between spouses. Consequently, there are three major types of family: matrifocal, consanguineal and conjugal.
A matrifocal family consists of a mother and her children. Generally, these children are her biological offspring, although adoption of children is a practice in nearly every society. This kind of family is common where women have the resources to rear their children by themselves, or where men are more mobile than women.
A consanguineal family consists of a mother and her children, and other people - usually the family of the mother. This kind of family is common where mothers do not have the resources to rear their children on their own, and especially where property is inherited. When important property is owned by men, consanguineal families commonly consist of a husband and wife, their children and other members of the husband's family.
A conjugal family consists of one or more mothers and their children, and/or one or more spouses (usually husbands). This kind of family is common where men desire to assert control over children, or where there is a sexual division of labor requiring the participation of both men and women, and where families are relatively mobile."
Family Structure
& Types
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family
U.S. children who live in expansive suburbs may start to pay for it with expansive waistlines, new research suggests.
Using data from a national health survey, researchers found that teenagers living in sprawling suburbs were more than twice as likely to be overweight as teens in more compact urban areas.
The findings echo those of a 2003 study by the same researchers that focused on U.S. adults. The researchers believe the same factors may be driving the link between suburban living and teenagers' weight - the major one being reliance on cars.
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, December 2006, Reuters Health, Monday, December 18, 2006. By Amy Norton
Study on Suburban Sprawl & Unhealthy Children / Teens
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_42735.html
This
Page Title: 'Evolution & Cultural Myth of Nuclear Family.
Love, Health, Baby, Child Care, Support, Depression, Relationships, Feminism,
Statistics'.
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Analyse
any human emotion, no matter how far it may be removed from the sphere of
sex, and you are sure to discover somewhere the primal impulse, to which
life owes its perpetuation. ... The primitive stages can always be re-established;
the primitive mind is, in the fullest meaning of the word, imperishable.
... Mans most disagreeable habits and idiosyncrasies, his deceit, his cowardice,
his lack of reverence, are engendered by his incomplete adjustment to a
complicated civilisation. It is the result of the conflict between our instincts
and our culture. (Sigmund Freud)

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