Rights and Responsibilities of Family Members

Rights of Family Members

Family members have specific rights depending on their roles within the family.

Parents:

• Rights include bearing, guiding, and advising children.
• Freedom to teach community values to their children.
• Expect respect from their children.

Children:

• Rights to basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing, education, healthcare, rest, and leisure.
• Their opinions should be heard.
• Right to be given names and be registered.
• Right to live with their parents and be protected from harm.
• Right to be treated equally without discrimination.

Family Stability

Family stability refers to a situation where the family is firm, steady, and not disturbed. A stable family exhibits trust, respect, harmony, and good behavior.

Rights and Responsibilities of Each Family Member

Responsibilities of Family Members

A responsibility is a duty or job someone has to do and may be blamed if it is not done correctly. Each family member has duties for the benefit of the family and community.

Father:

• Head of the family with more responsibilities.
• Makes family decisions and organizes activities.
• Provides security and essentials like food, clothes, and shelter.
• Teaches children customs and traditions, and maintains family discipline and peace.

Mother:

• Assists the father in maintaining the family.
• Plays a significant role in daily family matters.
• Organizes family activities, cares for the husband and children.
• Acts as a bridge of love between parents and children, maintaining family stability.

Children:

• Assist in domestic work and care for younger siblings.
• Represent a bond of love and joy in the family.
• Must respect parents and elders, and learn from them.

Consequences of Failing Responsibilities

If family members fail to carry out their responsibilities, the consequences include:

• Lack of basic needs for children.
• Family conflict, breakdown, and children becoming street kids.
• Frequent misunderstandings leading to quarrels and lack of peace and security.
• Family instability with children acquiring bad habits and causing trouble in society.

Exercises

1. Define the following terms:

• Courtship
• Marriage
• Early marriage

1. Marriage can be legally recognized. It has been established by:

• [Three answers needed]

1. List any four major causes of early marriage in your society.
2. True or False:

• Poverty is one of the causes of early marriages.
• HIV/AIDS can be the consequence of early marriage.
• Children are responsible for feeding the family.
• Mature marriage is always advantageous.

1. Pick and write the letter of the correct answer:

• It prepares mates for adulthood.
• It is a period of avoiding HIV.
• It is a period of joy and love.
• None of the above.

1. Are you ready to get married to someone? If Yes or No, give three reasons.
2. What is a family?
3. Name any three pillars of families found in your society:

• [Three answers needed]

1. What are the advantages of the nuclear family?
2. What are the disadvantages of the extended family?

The Concept of Family

The Meaning of Family

A family is a social group of people who are closely related, usually consisting of a father, a mother, and children. It may include non-blood relatives. Families are protected by society and the state as they are the foundation of society.

Types of Families

There are several types of families, with the most common being nuclear, extended, and single-parent families.

Nuclear Family:

• Consists of a wife, a husband, and children.
• Common in Europe.

Advantages:

• Requires fewer resources.
• Manageable and controllable due to small size.
• Clear distribution of authority.

Disadvantages:

• May develop selfishness and discrimination.
• Individualism may result.
• Limited learning from others outside the family.

Extended Family:

• Includes additional relatives like cousins, grandparents, uncles, and aunts.
• Common in Africa.

Advantages:

• Promotes unity and solidarity.
• Easier to perform large tasks.
• More opinions in decision-making.

Disadvantages:

• Difficult to maintain due to resource demands.
• Complex decision-making.
• Potential source of poverty.

Single Parent Family:

• Consists of one parent and children.
• Occurs due to death, divorce, or guardianship.

Advantages:

• Children learn to earn a living early.
• Tend to work harder.

Disadvantages:

• Financial burden on the parent.
• Potential lack of full parental care and role models.
• Possible psychological effects on children.

The Importance of Family

Families provide a healthy atmosphere for children, offer social services to the community, and transmit good social values. They promote love and solidarity and help perform various tasks.

Factors Contributing to Family Stability

Factors include love, respect, good behavior, trust, and peace. Family stability ensures participation in socio-economic activities, good habits, reduced crime, and environmental conservation.

Importance of Family Stability

Stable families contribute to socio-economic activities, reduce crime, and promote peace and security. They also encourage environmental conservation and ensure family lineage continuity.

Exercises

11. Answer the following questions:
    • What is family stability?
    • Outline the factors contributing to family stability.
    • In this globalized world, we do not need family stability. (True/False)
    • If the country is stable, obviously there is family stability. (True/False)
    • Why is it important for our families to be stable?

Foundations of a Stable Marriage

A stable marriage requires an agreement and shared goals between couples. Key components include love, respect, cooperation, good relationships, economic well-being, responsibility, accountability, transparency, tolerance, and understanding.

Elements of Proper Behaviour

Definition and Types of Behaviour

Behaviour can be defined as all the actions and reactions of objects or organisms, usually in relation to their surrounding environment. Human behaviour implies one’s actions, manners, and attitudes towards other people. Normally, people’s behaviour falls within a wide range – with some behaviour being common, some unusual, some acceptable, and some unacceptable – depending on the limits of acceptability. However, the acceptability of behaviour in certain societies or communities depends on the culture’s norms, customs, taboos, and traditions.

Therefore, some behaviour may be accepted in a given society according to the people’s norms, traditions, and customs. To be accepted in society, one’s behaviour should conform to its special morals and ethics. The behaviour of someone is reflected in the way he or she talks, eats, plays, and lives with others.

Elements of Proper Behaviour

Proper behaviour is the kind of behaviour that is acceptable to all members of a family, community, and society. Examples of proper behaviour are cooperation, solidarity, love, generosity, charity, helpfulness, kindness, and being responsible. Therefore, proper behaviour is taught according to the norms of a given society.

Indicators of Proper Behaviour:

• Love, peace, and security among people
• Respect for the law and rules guiding the society
• Cooperation
• Polite language when speaking to other people
• Being responsible
• Participation in community activities
• Payment of taxes and duties
• Respect for oneself, others, property, and authority
• Knowing and doing what is morally right
• Obedience and effective communication
• Honesty, i.e., always telling the truth and never cheating
• Adhering to instructions

Importance of Proper Behaviour

Proper behaviour helps to reduce crime and evil in society. It brings about a culture of unity and cooperation to solve various problems, hence fostering family stability. Furthermore, a peaceful environment stimulates economic development. Proper behaviour also helps develop a sense of love, respect, and solidarity among community members and society at large. Lastly, it contributes to the stability of the government and the state in general.

Improper Behaviour

Improper behaviour is the kind of behaviour that is not morally acceptable to a family, community, and society at large.

Indicators of Improper Behaviour:

• Unlawful acts such as killing and stealing
• The use of abusive language
• Love of violence
• Aggression, feelings of anger and hatred that may result in threatening or violent behaviour and boasting
• Segregation
• Arrogance, incivility, and rudeness
• Excessive drinking of alcohol
• Irresponsibility
• Immorality
• Corruption, dishonesty, and disobedience
• Indiscipline

Causes and Consequences of Improper Behaviour

Improper behaviour is caused by moral deterioration, drug abuse, lack of discipline, and poverty. It can also be caused by wealth superiority (wealth abuse), excessive alcohol drinking, and bad peer groups, especially among adolescents.

Consequences of Improper Behaviour:

• Misunderstandings in a family, community, or institution
• Increase in commercial sex workers and other crimes
• Loneliness due to discrimination
• Increased number of dropouts, dismissals, expulsions, and poor performance of students
• Inability to overcome various problems and causing family unrest
• Early marriages, adolescent pregnancies, spread of HIV/AIDS, divorce, frustrations, and deterioration of health or death due to over-drinking and drug abuse

Measures to Correct Improper Behaviour

Several measures can be taken to correct and reduce improper behaviour:

• Adherence to family planning education and religious teachings
• Law enforcement and punishing lawbreakers, e.g., thieves, bandits, and corrupt people
• Discouraging the importing and use of harmful drugs
• Parents teaching their children good and acceptable conduct
• Providing civil education and employment to the youth to reduce the rate of poverty

Other Types of Behaviour

Assertive: This refers to strong expressions intended to make other people recognize one’s rightful authority. It also refers to doing something by behaving confidently. It relies on honest, direct, and appropriate expression of needs, wants, or feelings as a first resort.

Avoidance: This is used to avoid any confrontation. People practice avoidance because of possible consequences or because one does not wish to be bothered by the consequences.

Submissive: This is also known as accommodating behaviour, which reduces the anxiety, guilt, or fear in others by letting its own views or thoughts be misconstrued, ignored, or taken advantage of. Submissive behaviour is instilled in children by parents, school, and society.

Aggressive Behaviour: This refers to behaving in a threatening way, and always ready to attack. This type of behaviour offends or tramples on someone else’s rights. It is a showing of anger. Sometimes, aggression can be an expression of fear, lack of self-esteem, or the inability to control a situation in any other way.

Appropriate Behaviour: This achieves necessary and desired goals without infringing the rights and needs of others. For instance, maintaining healthy eating habits, showing satisfaction for a service, and not annoying others.

Responsible Decision Making

Decision-making is a process of thinking to select a course of action from among many alternatives. Responsible decision-making is the process of making the choice after considering all options available through a particular criterion.

Meaning and Importance of Responsible Decision Making

Decision-making is a continuous process in life. It helps in the development and management of material and human resources. It happens when each member of the society feels obliged to participate in the formulation of policies, organizing, and developing resources to realize societal goals. It depends greatly on experience, feelings, cognition, sensing, judgment, reasoning, instruction, and sometimes the level of education and a person’s profession.

Rational Decision-Making

This involves reasoning and critical thinking before making decisions. It implies making a healthy decision.

Skills Needed to Make Healthy Decisions:

1. Define the problem/identify the problem.
2. Generate possible solutions/alternatives.
3. Generate the criteria for assessing the objectives.
4. Select the best solution/alternative.
5. Implement the chosen alternative.
6. Evaluate the success of the chosen alternative.
7. Modify the decision and actions taken based on the evaluation.

Levels in Decision-Making

Family Level: Decisions are made by family members, usually by parents due to their age, experience, and authority. Some decisions involve both parents and children.

Community Level: Decision-making can be done by people in power or by the whole community for matters such as building hospitals, schools, and roads.

National Level: Broad decisions are made on important national issues by the parliament, executive, and judiciary.

Importance of Making Responsible Decisions

Responsible decision-making ensures the careful use of limited resources for the betterment and development of society. It helps to build a sense of commitment to decisions made on behalf of the people, fosters a collective effort, and develops a sense of equality and freedom.

Factors Influencing Behaviour

Influence of Parents: Parenting styles influence the behaviour of children. Some characteristics are inherited from parents.

Peer Group: Some behaviour is acquired from peer groups found in schools, workplaces, clubs, etc.

Influence of Technology: Changes in technology, especially communication technology, play a major role in molding behaviour, especially among adolescents.

Lack of Employment: When people lack employment, they tend to get involved in improper behaviour such as robbery, rape, theft, drug abuse, and smoking bhang (marijuana) or using other illegal drugs.

Activity 1:
Discuss your behaviour with your friends. Are they accepted by your teachers or not?

Activity 2:
Discuss with your fellow students the rewards given to those who behave properly at your school. Does the reward help someone to behave properly? What is the importance of being rewarded?

Activity 3:
Discuss with your friends the consequences of improper behaviour in your society and ways to control them.

Activity 4:
Observe and discuss with your friends the types of behaviours among the students that influence those behaviours.

Exercises:

Exercise 12:
Responsible decision-making is the process of making the (good/best/better) choice after considering all the available (decisions/options/criteria).
Decision making can be held at three levels: , or _.
We need healthy decisions for development (True/False).
Mention the importance of making responsible decisions.

Exercise 13:

1. Define the following terms:

• Behaviour
• Proper behaviour
• Decision-making

Exercise 14:

2. List any five elements of proper behaviour:

• __________________
• __________________
• __________________
• __________________
• __________________

Exercise 15:

3. What are the dangers of improper behaviour?

• __________________
• __________________
• __________________

Exercise 16:

4. _ is not an element of improper behaviour.

• Corruption
• Stealing
• Believing
• Drug abuse

Exercise 17:

5. Write “True” or “False” against the statements given below:

• Peers always influence their friends into bad behaviours.
• Singing and dancing are elements of proper behaviour.
• Religious teaching is one way to correct improper behaviour.
• Corruption is an element of proper behaviour.
• Going to school discourages proper behaviour.

Exercise 18:

6. List seven proposed steps needed in decision-making.

Exercise 19:

7. How could a society correct improper behaviour?

Exercise 20:

8. Mention any three advantages of making a responsible decision.

Exercise 21:

9. Match the words in column A with the correct statement in column B:

• Column A
• Peer group
• Assertive
• Behaviour