Functionalist Talcott Parsons argues the point that the family are similar to a personality factory producing wave after wave of children who are committed to society and have learnt the values and norms they need to fit in. This factor of the family functions is most beneficial to society due to the fact it does a job better then anything else in convincing and teaching the norms and values that the children of society need to understand if they are to fit into society and follow the order and consensus society needs them to follow. Socialisation is beneficial to the individuals of society due to the fact that the children are being taught cultures ideas and values that are critical to there knowledge and will be remembered and used for the rest of there lives. If children are going to achieve good status in the hierarchy of society these skills must be learnt and not forgotten. Children learn a great deal from there early family years and this sets them in good position for the future awaiting them.
The second point is the fact that through the family society can control the people in any way they want. This can all be done via hidden messages cleverly sneaked into things we take for granted and rarely question. These hidden messages mean society will always have a certain level of control over the people within it, for example society have brought up through use of hidden messages the fact that if people want a normal solid family they must marry a partner of the opposite sex and through sexual relationships will be able to produce children allowing them to be accepted in society. Society do not allow people to bend the rules without paying consequences for example if a couple are homosexual as opposed to heterosexual in average areas of society they will be thought of as different and “weird” and generally will be rejected by society. This only came about due to hidden messages drumming into people’s minds that anything other then heterosexual is not correct. Another example could be the fact that society has created the factor that women work less and look after the children, this means the men go out to work earn the money but don’t look after the children in work time, society through hidden messages have put this point into individuals minds and have made sure society accept this point. It is through hidden messages most of society’s norms and values are created and for the majority of people we all take in these ideas without question and accept them without question. These hidden messages controlling society are there to maintain consensus and social order and without them society would not be the way it is. Society can only drum these points in through messages though as anything else would potentially result in a backfire and a rebellion against the rules and order of society. The controlling of people in society is of great benefit to society itself as this allows society to continue the way it needs to and to give out any messages that need to be said. Without these hidden messages society would collapse and there would be no consensus or order resulting in chaos. People look at the family’s around them and they accept them as the way things should be done, putting these messages through the family is the perfect way to get the messages through to people without them having a clue about any of it. This function of the family is of benefit to the individuals due to the fact it promotes and brings up the values and norms that the individuals will need to succeed in society. It tells them the way things that should be done and gives them all a chance to succeed by following these values. It will not suit everybody and inevitably some people will be aggrieved by this function but it gives individuals the chance to be successful and achieve high status in society by technically stating, follow these guidelines and you will be happy and successful but if you rebel against them you will be a failure and rejected by society.
The next point is the function that the family are a major stress relief for all involved. This point suggests that after a hard days work in education or in industry the family and home are the only place individuals can return to forget about all there problems and relax, be themselves and let there stress and worries disappear until the next day. This idea comes from the warm bath theory stating that problems such as Money, Deadlines, Promotion, Overtime, Commuting, Job insecurity, Competition, Productivity amongst many others can all be put to one side upon returning home to the family. This function greatly benefits the individual as after a bad day at work the individual can look forward to returning home every night with all the problems put away for one night. Without this comfort area for individuals many would find the work to hard, to demotivating, depressing and this function is critical to keeping workers in work and providing them with a balance of hard work and relaxation at home. This function helps society due to the fact that this keeps the individuals happy meaning they will come in the next day happy and ready for work The family stress relief function Is created the way it is so workers have that balance between work and rest and so workers have enough rest to sufficiently continue working the next day yet will not be unhappy and leave the job either.
Criticisms of these points are not absent either, firstly we have heard the point that the family benefit all the individuals but especially feminists have a large problem with this statement as generally women have been exploited and used in comparison to men being made to look after the children and having to miss out on maybe careers they had there hearts set upon simply due to the fact society needs the Mother to take care of the child while the Father is out working. The theory also assumes that socialisation is all a one way straight process with no interference yet a large number of children rebel against the rules even made by family members and will never fully accept them. Another large problem is the fact that in the warm bath theory Functionalists assume that family life is perfect and without problems, there are many flaws in this including domestic violence, child abuse and divorces which can all make the family life just as difficult and challenging as that in the industry.
The bottom line is that the way family are made and shaped are created in this way to suit society and the way society wants it to be. Society have altered the way the family are to keep individuals as happy as possible because a society without happy individuals would be disjointed and would not function in the way needed. The family are made to suit individuals to a point where they will work and will accept the consensus made by society yet it is still the society who are in control and if they need to change the family to suit themselves it will be changed without most of us realising.
