What is a Family?

: Identify three people (it would be best if both sexes and a variety of ages
were represented). Individually, ask each person to define "What is a family?" Your paper
should include your subjects gender, marital status, and approximate age as well as their
complete response to the question. In addition to those three definitions, include your own
definition. Note: Most people will try to give "simple" answers. Encourage them to give
complete thoughtful answers.
In the custom edition of The Marriage and Family Experience, a family is defined as a
unit of two or more people, of which one or more may be children who are related by blood,
marriage, or affiliation and who cooperate economically and may share a common dwelling
place. I interviewed several people in my life about what a family is to them. These are some of
the things they came up with.
1) Female/Married/24 Family to me, is my husband and my little boy. But if I had to
summarize a family, Id have to say that a family is the people that you love and
care about. Theyre not just the people that you happen to live with. Like nieces,
nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Most of the time you dont live
with any of these relatives but theyre still family.
2) Male/Married/52 I think that there are two kinds of family. The people youre
related to, and the people that are in other parts of your life. Like a sports team or a
friend group youre in. Most people tend to only think of the blood relations, but
sometimes, people dont even consider those relations as family. There are people
in my family that I dont talk to at all, so even though theyre family theyre not
family to me. I have friends that I definitely consider to be family and Id do anything
for them.
3) Male/Single/18 Ive decided that family has nothing to do with blood. My real
family happens to be some people who have no blood relation to me whatsoever. My
actual biological family doesnt treat me like Im family so I choose to have
nothing to do with them. Family are people that love and care about you, and you

love and care about them. Whether that be 5 people, 30 people, or even 1 other
person.
I agree more with the second person I interviewed. There are two types of family in my
eyes. I have my blood relatives, some I talk to, and some I dont. But then there are
friends that I would consider family. My softball team is definitely family to me. We all
get along really well and were always there for each other no matter what. If thats not
considered family then I dont know what is.

Works Cited
The Marriage and Family Experience Strong/Cohen In the custom edition of
The Marriage and Family Experience, a family is defined as a unit of two or more people, of
which one or more may be children who are related by blood, marriage, or affiliation and who
cooperate economically and may share a common dwelling place. I interviewed several people in
my life about what a family is to them. These are some of the things they came up with.