Family

FAMILY is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children. Anthropologists most generally classify family organization as matrilocal (a mother and her children); conjugal (a husband, his wife, and children; also called nuclear family); and consanguineal (also called an extended family) in which parents and children co-reside with other members of one parent's family. A group consisting of parents and children living together in a household.In science, the term "family" has come to be used as a means to classify groups of objects as being closely and exclusively related. Family is also an important economic unit.

Two or more people who share goals and values, have long-term commitments to one another, and reside usually in the same dwelling place. The family is the foundation of society - broken families affect us all. Focus on the Family is dedicated to supporting families across the world.

The different types of families occur in a wide variety of settings, and their specific functions and meanings depend largely on their relationship to other social institutions.

The term "nuclear family" is commonly used, especially in the United States, to refer to conjugal families.

Sociologists distinguish between conjugal families (relatively independent of the kindred of the parents and of other families in general) and nuclear families (which maintain relatively close ties with their kindred).

The term "extended family" is also common, especially in United States. This term has two distinct meanings. First, it serves as a synonym of "consanguinal family" (consanguine means "of the same blood"). Second, in societies dominated by the conjugal family, it refers to "kindred" (an egocentric network of relatives that extends beyond the domestic group) who do not belong to the conjugal family.

In the family,