A Detailed Project Report on

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

Submitted
By
PODIPIREDDI VIKAS
Roll No: 11981A0378

Department of Mechanical Engineering

MVGR College of Engineering
Chinthalavalasa , Vizianagaram
2014-2015

MVGR COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project report titled FAMILY
RELATIONSHIPS being submitted by PODIPIREDDI VIKAS as
the part of the course Advanced Communication Skills Lab is
a record of bonafide work carried out under my guidance and
supervision at the Department of Mechanical Engineering,
MVGR College of Engineering, Vizianagaram .

Mr. S Mohan kumar (HOD)

MA, PGCTE (CIEFL), PGDY, MELTAI, (Ph.D)
Department of Science and Humanities
MVGR College of Engineering

Introduction:
What is a family?
A family is any group of people who live together, share with one another, work together, care
and support each other, keep each other safe and love each other
Effective families contribute to positive individual development, a quality workplace and
workforce, caring communities, and a healthy nation. All families must be strengthened
Through experiences which teach youth and adults coping skills, effective communications
skills, effective decision-making, and an appreciation of heritage. Research recognizes the
uniqueness and diversity of families and thus foster and support the idea that strong families:
believe in open and honest COMMUNICATION,
experience CONTENTMENT with their lifestyle,
have a sense of family HISTORY,
have a sense of HUMOR,
have a sense of OPTIMISM about life,
have a sense of SPIRITUALITY,
encourage UNITY and family togetherness, and
share common VALUES.

What is a relationship? (An interaction between two or more people.)

With whom do you have relationships? (Parents , siblings, peers, opposite sex while dating,
mate, grandparents, etc.)

During the next few days we will zero in on the relationships you have within your
immediate families. The other relationships you experience throughout your life will be
discussed at the appropriate time throughout the course.

Relationships are never the same. They change constantly because people change. Our
family relationships change according to how we play our family roles, how we communicate
and react to stress, and how our different personalities interact.

If we put aside individual differences for a moment and look at family members going
through changing relationships, we will see that as each person develops and grows older within
the family, the family relationship changes. Even though a parent and child may have the same

personality types, the stages of development and the different growth needs they experience will
make their personalities different. Their relationship in any given year is affected by the
developmental challenges each person is facing.

STRONG FAMILIES BUILD STRONG COMMUNITIES COMMUNICATION

Strong families communicate easily and well frequently, openly, clearly, and directly. They do
good deal of sharing of themselves their feelings, hopes, dreams, fears, joys, sorrows,
experiences, growth, and needs .Perhaps the most important communication skill is
Listening. Active listening is essential to effective family communication and is vital to hearing
and being heard in the family unit.
The presence of an effective communication pattern is one of the most frequently mentioned
Characteristics of strong families.
swihart 1988

CONTENTMENT
Strong families base their life style on what they can afford and can reasonably enjoy on a
concept of stewardship that stresses gratitude for what they have, not whining after what they do
not have. Contentment is the state of being happy enough with what one has or is; not desiring
something more or different. Contented families are steadfast and do not allow others to define
for them what they have to be and have as a family.
Dont let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
John Wooden
HUMOR
Families who have joy in their lives are more likely to feel good about themselves. It also seems
fairly obvious that having a sense of humor helps families cope with lifes stressors and crises.
Humor can ultimately be used as a coping tool for families .Humor is very beneficial in
strengthening families .It gives families perspective and sense of power .Humor also dispels
anger and aggression and relieves tension among family members .Families that learn to find
humor even in some of the grim realities and emotion-packed challenges of daily life have an
edge on peace of mind .Changes in this mind set takes practice
.
The most completely lost of all days is the one on which we havent laughed.

French Proverb

UNITY
Strong families recognize that there are benefits and pleasures to be gained from time and
activities together. They also realize that they have contributions to make to the family and its
members and some obligation to do so. They value the family bond that makes efforts to
preserve time together for family activities and interaction .Family unity encourages families to
create daily routines as well as special traditions and celebrations which affirm members,
connect them to family roots, and add creativity and fun to ordinary events. Families can build a
secure nest in many ways. The nest must shelter without smothering and allow room for all
members to test their wings under protection and encouragement.
We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs
a day for growth.
Virginia Satir

VALUES
Values are a reflection of who we are, of our culture and our own unique heritage. Being clear
about our values enables and empowers us to establish priorities and make decisions that we can
live with and by. What we learn from our families in childhood serves us throughout our lives.
Families guide personal growth and education, while offering love and protection. When families
are strong, our neighborhood is strong, and our nation is strong, and we can be more hopeful
about the future .Values have an influence at every stage of making a choice. Values shape what
we perceive. They influence our goals, the alternatives we select, and the ranking of these
alternatives. Values are a consistent response to situations with common factors. True values are
principals and ideals you live by.
If you wish to know the mind of a man, listen to his words

Chinese Proverb

SPIRITUALITY
Families with a sense of spirituality carry a gratitude and sense of hope that recognizes even the
Little things of life as special events. However, spirituality of Americas families has diverse
meaning, extended beyond as well as among family members. The spirit that transcends self is
seen in many forms. Spirituality provides a way to deal with successes
and also failures, especially in family relationships .It teaches us to ask forgiveness when we
have wronged another and accepted forgiveness when we have been wronged
.

Great are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force, that thoughts rule
the world.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Parental Socialization:
Parents as direct instructors

Parents may directly teach their children skills, rules, and strategies and
explicitly advice them on various issues.

Parents as indirect socializers

Parents provide indirect socialization in the course of their day-to-day

interactions with their children

Parents as providers and controllers of opportunities

Parents manage childrens experiences and social lives, including their

exposure to positive or negative experiences, their opportunities to play with
certain toys and children, and their exposure to various kinds of information.

Parental Control:
Parents efforts to supervise and monitor their childrens behavior
Effective control

Setting standards that are appropriate for the childs age

Showing the child how to meet the standards

Rewarding the child for complying to these standards

Parents should enforce the standards consistently

Children and adolescents are more compliant when parents enforce the
rules regularly.

 Effective control is also based on good communication

Parents should explain why theyve set standards and why they reward or
punish as they do.

How Can Parents Influence Their Children?

Direct Instruction

Telling a child what to do, when and why

Learning by Observing (modeling)

Learning what to do by watching

Learning what not to do (counterimitation)

Feedback

Parents indicate whether a behavior is appropriate and should continue

or should stop.

Punishment Works Best When:

Administered directly after the undesired behavior occurs, rather than hours later
An undesired behavior always leads to punishment, rather than usually or
occasionally
Accompanied by an explanation of why the child was punished and how
punishment can be avoided in the future
The child has a warm, affectionate relationship with the person administering the
punishment.

Drawbacks to punishment:
Punishment is primarily suppressive: if a new behavior isnt learned to replace
it, the old response will come back.
Children become upset as they are being punished which makes it unlikely that
they will understand the feedback that punishment is meant to convey.

 When children are punished physically they often imitate this behavior with
peers and younger siblings.
Children who are spanked often use aggression to resolve their disputes with
others and are more likely to have behavior problems.

Marriage and Divorce:

Nearly half of all first marriages end in divorce.

Every year approximately one million American children have parents

who divorce.

Divorce is distressing for children because it involves conflict between parents

and usually separation from one of them.

Family Life After Divorce:

Children usually live with their mothers.

About 15% of children live with their fathers after divorce.

How does life change (based on the Virginia Longitudinal Study)?

First few months after divorce, many mothers are less affectionate
toward their children.

Two years after the divorce, mother-child relationships improve,

particularly for daughters.

Six years after the divorce, children in the study were adolescents.

Family life continued to improve for mothers and daughters.

Family life was problematic for mothers and sons.

Impact of Divorce on Children:

Children whose parents had divorced fare poorly compared to children from
intact families in:

School achievement

Conduct

Adjustment

Self-concept.

Parent-child relations.

Children adjust to divorce more readily if their divorced parents

cooperate with each other, especially on disciplinary matters.

Children benefit from joint custody if parents get along.

Which Children are Affected?:

The overall impact of divorce is about the same for boys and girls

However, divorce is more harmful when it occurs during childhood

and adolescence than during preschool or college years.

With regard to parents remarriage, young adolescents appear to be more

negatively affected than younger children.

Young adolescents struggles with issues of identity are heightened

by the presence of a new parent who has authority to control them
and is a sexual partner of their biological parent.

The Importance of Family:

Children in their middle years treasure their families and feel they are special and irreplaceable.
Families provide children with a sense of belonging and a unique identity. Families are, or
should be, a source of emotional support and comfort, warmth and nurturing, protection and
security. Family relationships provide children with a critical sense of being valued and with a
vital network of historical linkages and social support. Within every healthy family there is a
sense of reciprocitya giving and taking of love and empathy by every family member.
Families are much more than groups of individuals. They have their own goals and aspirations.
They also are places where every child and adult should feel that he or she is special and be
encouraged to pursue his or her own dreams; a place where everyone's individuality is permitted
to flourish. Although every family has conflicts, all the family members should feel as though
they can express themselves openly, share their feelings, and have their opinions listened to with
understanding. In fact, conflicts and disagreements are a normal part of family life and are
important insofar as they permit people to communicate their differences and ventilate their
feelings.
The family instructs children and gives guidance about personal values and social behavior. It
instills discipline and helps them learn and internalize codes of conduct that will serve them for
the rest of their lives. It helps them develop positive interpersonal relationships, and it provides
an environment that encourages learning both in the home and at school. It gives children a sense
of history and a secure base from which to grow and develop. Yet, as important as these

functions are, they do not happen automatically. Every parent knows it takes hard work to keep
the family going as an effective, adaptive, and functional unit.
To be part of a happy family, one should always thank God for the blessing we have in lives, as
having a family who cares and loves us is the greatest blessing that any person could get in life.
When we see broken families for reasons of their own, we should always remind ourselves, how
lucky we are to be a part of a family that has been and will be with us all through our lives.

Conclusion:
Family should be our priority, and love them with all your heart, as everything else you could get
as per your choice, but getting good parents and siblings is a choice that is made by God and you
can never demand it!