Healthy Family System
Essay 1
Sarah Johnson
Liberty University
Essay 1
“Family” can have many definitions and meanings. To one person, family may consist of having a mother, father, and children. While to another, family may mean a mother, grandmother, aunts and uncles. Regardless of how one interprets this term, child development can be directly affected by the family system in which a child is raised.
Healthy Family Systems In Competent Christian Counseling: Foundations and Practice of Compassionate Soul Care, Clinton and Ohlschlager (2002) state that families are defined and evaluated by their boundaries that separate one family from another (p. 519). Clinton and Ohlschlager (2002) discuss two types of family systems: closed and open. Closed …show more content…
519). These functions are: regulation of sex and reproduction, socialization and identity, companionship, and conferred power or status (p. 519-20). Regulation of sex and reproduction refers to, “the bio-psycho-social-spiritual dimensions of these gifts that are given by God to function wholly within the bounds of marriage and family life,” (Clinton & Ohlschlager, 2002, p. 519). The family function of socialization and identity focuses on the family as being the primary tool in which individuals learn the roles and rules of society; these roles help shape family and personal identity (Clinton & Ohlschlager, 2002 p. 520). Companionship refers to the family system meeting the needs of love and affection, solace and comfort, and testing ways to interact with the larger world. Conferred power or status: the family is the means for learning and understanding the powers and limits of the following: social relationships, influence of gender, assigned roles, age, and developmental status (Clinton & Ohlschlager, 2002 p. …show more content…
In an unhealthy family setting parents could be emotionally or physically abusive to their children or one another, neglect their children, or raise their children in an inhabitable location. Unfortunately, this can negatively affect a child’s development. For example, uninvolved parents show no interest in their children, and display indifference and rejecting behavior. They are emotionally detached from their children and often view their parenting role as merely providing the essentials – food, clothing, shelter (Feldman, 2014, p. 253). Children of uninvolved parents can often feel unloved, unwanted, and they ultimately become emotionally detached like their parents (Feldman, 2014, p. 254). As a result of uninvolved parenting, the cognitive, emotional, and psychology development of these children is significantly impeded. Child abuse can occur in any household, but it is more common in families living in stressful environments such as poverty and single parenthood. Physically abused children are anxious, resistant to control, suffer from headaches more frequently than other children, and also portray signs of developmental delay (Feldman, 2014, p. 255). While it is not always the case, children who suffer from abuse or neglect are predisposed to abuse or neglect their children. Unfortunately, these children have learned that violence is an acceptable form of punishment (Feldman, 2014, p. 255). Abuse is not
Sarah Johnson
Liberty University
Essay 1
“Family” can have many definitions and meanings. To one person, family may consist of having a mother, father, and children. While to another, family may mean a mother, grandmother, aunts and uncles. Regardless of how one interprets this term, child development can be directly affected by the family system in which a child is raised.
Healthy Family Systems In Competent Christian Counseling: Foundations and Practice of Compassionate Soul Care, Clinton and Ohlschlager (2002) state that families are defined and evaluated by their boundaries that separate one family from another (p. 519). Clinton and Ohlschlager (2002) discuss two types of family systems: closed and open. Closed …show more content…
519). These functions are: regulation of sex and reproduction, socialization and identity, companionship, and conferred power or status (p. 519-20). Regulation of sex and reproduction refers to, “the bio-psycho-social-spiritual dimensions of these gifts that are given by God to function wholly within the bounds of marriage and family life,” (Clinton & Ohlschlager, 2002, p. 519). The family function of socialization and identity focuses on the family as being the primary tool in which individuals learn the roles and rules of society; these roles help shape family and personal identity (Clinton & Ohlschlager, 2002 p. 520). Companionship refers to the family system meeting the needs of love and affection, solace and comfort, and testing ways to interact with the larger world. Conferred power or status: the family is the means for learning and understanding the powers and limits of the following: social relationships, influence of gender, assigned roles, age, and developmental status (Clinton & Ohlschlager, 2002 p. …show more content…
In an unhealthy family setting parents could be emotionally or physically abusive to their children or one another, neglect their children, or raise their children in an inhabitable location. Unfortunately, this can negatively affect a child’s development. For example, uninvolved parents show no interest in their children, and display indifference and rejecting behavior. They are emotionally detached from their children and often view their parenting role as merely providing the essentials – food, clothing, shelter (Feldman, 2014, p. 253). Children of uninvolved parents can often feel unloved, unwanted, and they ultimately become emotionally detached like their parents (Feldman, 2014, p. 254). As a result of uninvolved parenting, the cognitive, emotional, and psychology development of these children is significantly impeded. Child abuse can occur in any household, but it is more common in families living in stressful environments such as poverty and single parenthood. Physically abused children are anxious, resistant to control, suffer from headaches more frequently than other children, and also portray signs of developmental delay (Feldman, 2014, p. 255). While it is not always the case, children who suffer from abuse or neglect are predisposed to abuse or neglect their children. Unfortunately, these children have learned that violence is an acceptable form of punishment (Feldman, 2014, p. 255). Abuse is not