MY FAMILY

My family’s name is the Odekanmi Family. My family consist of seven persons. These persons include my Dad, Mr A.A. Odekanmi, and my Mum, Mrs. E.F. Odekanmi. The others are my siblings; Odekanmi Dillon, Odekanmi Deji, Odekanmi Taiwo, Odekanmi Kehinde. This paper contains the family structure and type my family has, the type of family we have, the roles of the members of the family, communication type in my family and so on.

FAMILY TYPE

As said earlier, my family name is Odekanmi. My family type is a Moslem Marriage but the whole family has now converted to Christianity and, I myself am a Roman Catholic. The indigenous form of marriage too was contracted as the culture and tradition of the Yoruba people.

STRUCTURE

The structure of the family also refers to its composition. The composition of family is the nuclear family. My family consists of my father, Mr. Odekanmi A.A, my mother, Mrs. Odekanmi E.F and the children Odekanmi Billion, Odekanmi Dillon, Odekanmi Deji, Odekanmi Taiwo, Odekanmi Kehinde. Another structure that my family practises is the Monogamous family. This is because the marriage is between one man and one woman. 

Since the composition of the family means those who is included and what roles they play within the family. Those who are included have been said earlier. The roles played within the family by my family members include reproduction, affection, socialization, economic corporation and religious upbringing.

KINSHIP AND DESCENT

Descent is traced through the father’s line in my family like other parts ofNigeria. This type of descent is called Patrilinear descent.

FEATURES OF MY FAMILY

1.      There is importance of children to my family. This is very important in Africa as it is seen as a way for continuity.

2.       Care and respect for the elderly.

3.      Lack of public display of affection. This is seen as a sign of weakness.

4.      Marriage ceremony.

5.      There’s patrilocal residence.

6.      Family membership includes those that have died, those that are living and those that are yet to be born.

7.      The interest of the family includes continuity and solidarity.

And so on.

ROLES

FATHER: My father is known as the head of the family. He is the bread-winner of the family. To my mother, he is her husband.

MOTHER: My mother is known as the partner of the head of the head of the family. She is a wife to my father. To us children, she is our mother. She is a home maker, a child bearer. She also is part of the labour force so she is a working mother.

CHILDREN: The children are considered a source of joy to any family. Children are expected to carter for their parent when they are aged. To help send on errands. Children are also expected for us to help our parents in home making and so on.

COMMUNICATION STYLE

The three types of the communication styles are practised in my family.

1.      Complementary communication style: this when one person may be dominant, talkative, passive and quiet- at least on the subject of discussion at least at that time.

2.       Symmetrical communication style: this is when both people are trying to send messages that are directed toward controlling or influencing the behaviours of others and neither of us is ready to influence the other.

3.      Parallel communication style: this style of communication is flexible in interaction and no one is dominant nor passive either is anyone trying to send messages that are directed toward controlling or influencing the behaviours of others and neither of us is ready to influence the other.

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

As it has been taught in lectures, conflict can be constructive or destructive. Destructive conflict however results because the right conflict management strategies have not been applied. The conflict management strategies used in my family are:

1.      Prevention Strategies: To prevent destructive conflict by maintaining high level of mutual understanding. This is achieved by observing the elements of interpersonal communication. These include Self-awareness, Empathy, Non-verbal language, Self disclosure and Listening. This prevention strategy is also done by preventing the development of confrontations.

2.      Negotiation Strategies: it is known that not all conflicts can be prevented. There are times when these conflicts are better confronted and resolved.

LIKES

There are a lot of things I like about my family. One of the things is that my family is not too traditional in its dealings. It is true we greet our parents when we wake and other mandatory things are also done. My family doesn’t believe a girl is not a child unlike some cultures in Nigeria. My father believes in the education of girl children, believes they are intelligent and smart and that their specialty isn’t just in the kitchen. My family also believes a woman should join the labour force and not be a full time housewife. My family appreciates birthday celebrations. My family believes in togetherness. The children are allowed to share their views about certain topic for discussion. It is believed that children have voices and should be listened. Even the 5 year olds for example pick their clothes themselves.

DISLIKES

            It is known that not all families are perfect. My family for example isn’t perfect. One of the things I wouldn’t like to be continued when I have my own nuclear family(family of procreation) is this. I would be a woman who knows what the family income is. If the family income is enough or not I would love to know. This will help in budgeting of spending money, investments and savings. I know my family is doing well despite the current inflation in the prices and economic meltdown i would still like to be involved in this aspect of my family’s life.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, I think my family is better off than most average families because of the togetherness we have disciplined ourselves with.