FAMILY LIFE.
A family is a group of people who are related by blood ,marriage or adoption.Some of the reasons for getting married or companionship and to get children. COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE.
Courtship is a period during which two people get to know one another before they get married.It also appropriate for the preparation for wedding.Courtship enable the two partner to understand each other and to know each families members.
Marriage is the union of a man and a woman as husband and wife.It is a formal and legal between a man and woman,accompanied a wedding ceremony.
IMPORTANCE OF COURTSHIP
Courtship is importance period before marriage because it helps a couplt to:-
1. Develop self discipline an individual may be disqualified by the family of the pontential husband or wife.
2. Know each other,it gives the two partners an opportunity to know each others feelings,altitudes,expectation and other aspect of life before marriage
3. This helps to avoid unnecessary conflicts in the future.
4. Show evidence of maturity,people who intend to get marriage must be mature enough to take care of the family they are due to start.
5. Acquire property,courtship gives a couple times to acquire some basic requirement of life such house and future.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COURTSHIP AND MARRIAGE
Courtship and marriage are closely related. This relation can be seen in the areas.
1. Courtship is the foundation of a good marriage.
2. The courtship period allows the couple to learn important life skill.Forexample one learner how to love and understand his other partners.
3. The two partners decide to get marriage.
4. A good marriage needs a blessing or parents,relative and neighbors.
EARLY OR PREMATURE MARRIAGE
Is the done under 18 years old. The age for marriage in Tanzania is less than that 15-18 years and above considered to be early or premature marriage.
CUSTOMS AND BELIEF THAT ENCOURAGE EARLY MARRIAGE.
Customs are habits that are passed from one generation to another.They include greetings,punctuality and obedience .
Belief are things that are though to be true by a certain community,different society have their customs and belief about marriage.
The following are some customs and belief that may encourage early marriage.
1. Payment of bride price, the parents of a girl receive bride price in terms of cash,livestock or land,this can encourage early marriage because greedy parents may be tempted to forced the young daughters to be married in order to get wealth.
2. Gender discrimination in education,is where a boy give priority over a girl in terms of education;some parents have the wrong belief that educating a girl is west time and money .This encourages early marriage because girls are forced to drop out school in favor of their brother’s.
3. Traditional initiations, traditional practices such as initiation prepare a girl for marriage.This is encourage early marriage because girls is considered woman who is ready to start her own family.
4. Inheritance ,some communities do not allow a boy to inherit property if is not married.This encourages some boys to enter into marriages as a qualification to inherit property.
5. Lack of education,some parents marry off their young daughters due to ignorance.
PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH EARLY MARRIAGE.
1. Complication during delivery,Early marriage causes material and infant death in the society this is because reproductive organs of the young girl are enough to support matured to a pregnancy deliver safe.The complication arising during pregnancy and labour most often result in death or permanent damage to the girls’ body.
2. Prevention of young women from continuing, some communities young girls are forcefully removed from school to be married.This interfere with their education and future plains.
3. Increase in poverty, most couples that get married at a young age do not have reliable means of getting income it becomes difficult for them to take care of their children.
4. Spread of HIV and AIDS, very young men and women may not be able to make correct decision on mental matters.They are at high risk of being infected with sexually transmitted disease include HIV and AIDS.
5. Break down of families,very young men and women may lack enough experience, knowledge and tolerance as family problems are concerned .They may not know how to settle their difference and sometimes minor problems lead to separation and divorce.
PREVENTION OF EARLY MARRIAGE
1. Education,the society should education on the dangers of early marriage.
2. Basic sociocultural practice, culture practices-societies should abandon on negative social cultural practices such as female circumcision and gender discrimination.
3. Laws, the government should enact strict laws against early marriages and enforce the existing one the existing one to discourage parents from forcing their children to get married at early age.
4. Poverty alleviation,poverty alleviation strategies should be strengthened.This will help preventing the economic hardship which force poor parents marry off their young girl in order to get bridge price.
FOUNDATION OF A STABLE MARRIAGE.
A stable marriage exists where the couple is united under the rules of marriage.A couple supports love and respect each other.
1. Agreement, the two should also agree on what they expect to achieve in the marriage.
2. Love, marriage partners must have affection for each other.Love is an important component of a stable marriage .
3. Trust, the couple must trust each other.
4. Tolerance and understanding, each partner should exercise to tolerance towards,the weakness of the other.It may not always be possible for one fully agree with the action of the other person.
5. Transparency,marriage partner should be open with each other.It is wrong to keep secrets which may danger the marriage.
TYPES OF FAMILIES.
There are three common types of families these are.
1. Nuclear family, this is family which consists of a father, mother and children.
2. Extended family, this is family which consists of a father,mother,children,grandparents,aunts,uncles,nieces,nephews,cousin and other relatives.
3. Single parent family, single families may result from the death of one partner, divorce or getting children.
THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY.
A family plays an important role in the community.The reasons why the family is important include.
1. To foster co-operation in the society.
2. The bring up children who will be honest,trust worthy and responsible people in the society.
3. Families promote the development of individual members.
4. Good families act as role models in the society children and youth therefore have models they can copy.
5. Families provide the children with opportunities to be hard workers.
6. Children are taught customs of their society.
FAMILY STABILITY.
A stable family is a one in which peace ,respect love and good behavior are observed.
The following factors contribute to family stability.
1. RESPECT This is situation in which members.The children respect parents and people other.
2. LOVE ,this enable family member to help each other.
3. GOOD BEHAVIOR,a family should live in peace avoid conflicts.
IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY STABILITY.
The following are some of the way in which family stability in important.
1. Family member participate on other social and economic activities.
2. Family members are able to participate in communal activities suc as cleaning up market and planting trees.
3. Peace in country begging at the lowest level of the family.
4. Family stability helps members to enjoy in positive habits and activities and reduces incidences of drug abuse or crime.
5. Children from stable families are likely to start own families in future thereby ensuring the continuity of the family as unit.
RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF FAMILY MEMBERS.
Right are things one is allowed to do or that one is entered to.In the family as a unity parent have their right and children also have their right some of the right that parents have are:-
1. Making family decision
2. Guiding and advising their children.
3. Being respected by their children.
4. Teaching their children community value.
Children in the family also have family,this right including.
1. Expressing their opinion.
2. Being treated equally without any kind of discrimination.
3. Being registered after birth and being given name
4. Living with their parents
5. Rest and leisure
6. Getting basic and secondary need like food,education and healthcare.
7. To be protected from injury economic exploitation.
RESPONSIBILITIES.
These are duties that a person is obliged some parental responsibilities are:-
1. Making family decision
2. Providing security for the family.
3. Ensuring discipline is maintained by the children.
4. Providing family requirement such as a food,cloth,shelter and education.
5. Taking charge of the day to day activities of the family.
6. Loving and taking care of the children.
7. Arranging and organizing family activities such as cleanliness and preparation of meal.
8. Counseling their to be well behaved.
Responsibilities of children in the family including.
1. Helping with domestic tasks
2. Respecting parents and elders
3. Taking care of their young brother or sister.
4. Obeying their parents and teachers .
5. Going to school to learn.
Consequence of not carrying out responsibilities.
1. Family instability, children can acquire bad habits and create trouble in the family and in the society.
2. Conflicts, frequent misunderstanding may arise between members of the family.
3. Family breakdown, a family break down if there are frequent misunderstand and parents.
4. Street children, in the absence of peace of family requirements children will not stay at home.They will end in the street.
5. Lack of basic need, if parent do not work hard,children cannot get their basic need as well as other needs.
