Modern parents feel nuclear families better

RANCHI: The virtues of being brought up in a joint family have always helped individuals in incorporating values that hold them in good stead. So, the concept of nuclear family has received flak from many. But not any more. Most parents feel the bond that a child shares with his parents is stronger when they live in a nuclear family.
Nuclear units give parents more time to concentrate on the development of their child.This helps to groom them properly.
Nivedita Tiwary, a homemaker, believes in joint families most of the time parents balance work outside and responsibilities towards the elder members of the family. Thus, the child gets less attention.
"When living in a joint set up, everything comes under the scrutiny of the other family members. If a child makes a mistake other members will also haul him up which becomes embarrassing for the child. So, they try and hide things from their parents also. Nuclear families help the child open up to his parents about anything and everything," said Tiwary.
It is more important for a working mother to be a part of a nuclear family, feel many. The little time she gets should be well spent with her children.
Seema Pandey, a working mother, always has her children and their needs in mind. "In a nuclear set up we can teach our children about many things that they are curious about but don't know who to approach. We become their first friends and allow them to go through experiences and discuss the good or ill effects of it. They also learn to share their problems with their parents," said Pandey.
Sociologists feel though nuclear families provides a lot of scope for parents to turn all their attention to the child, the warmth, emotional bonding and values that a joint family inculcates is not so easily replaced.
"Even if parents wish to spend more time children these days are mostly occupied with the virtual world. Nuclear families also fail to teach them the importance of close knit relatives, strong family bonds and social norms. In such a scenario parents who bring their children up in nuclear set ups need to be extra careful so that their kids do not choose wrong path in life," said Ranchi University sociologist P K Chaudhary.