CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The term extended family has several distinct meanings. It consists of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. In some circumstances, the extended family comes to live either with or in place of a member of the nuclear family; a family that includes in one household near relatives in addition to a nuclear family. An example would be elderly parent who move in with their children due to old age. This places large demands on the caregivers, particularly on the female relatives who choose to perform these duties for their extended family. In modern Western cultures dominated by nuclear family constructs, it has come to be used generically to refer to grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, whether they live together within the same household or not.[1] However, it may also refer to a family unit in which several generations live together within a single household. In some cultures, the term is used synonymously with consanguineous family. (Andersen, Margaret L and Taylor, Howard Francis 2007)

According to Bulik, (2010) he opined that in extended family, parents and their children’s families may often live under a single roof. This type of joint family often includes multiple generations in the family. From culture to culture, the variance of the term may have different meanings. For instance, in India, the family is a patriarchal society, with the sons’ families often staying in the same house. In the joint family set-up, the workload is shared among the members, often unequally. The roles of women are often restricted to housewives and this usually involves cooking, cleaning, and organizing for the entire family. The patriarch of the family (often the oldest male member) lays down the rules and arbitrates disputes. Other senior members of the household babysit infants in case their mother is working. They are also responsible in teaching the younger children their mother tongue, manners, and etiquette. Grandparents often take the leading roles due to the fact that they have the most experience with parenting and maintaining a household. Amy Goyer, AARP multigenerational issues expert, said the most common multigenerational household is one with a grandparent as head of household and his adult children having moved in with their children, an arrangement usually spurred by the needs of one or both to combine resources and save money. The second most popular is a grandparent moving in with an adult child’s family, usually for care-giving reasons. She noted that 2.5 million grandparents say they are responsible for the basic needs of the grandchild living with them. The house often has a large reception area and a common kitchen. Each family has their own bedroom. The members of the household also look after each other when a member is ill.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS

This research looks into the problems associated with extended family system in Nigeria. And further highlight some of problems children are likely to face from extended family system as lack of educational materials, problem of nutritional intake in most of the extend family among other.

PURPOSE OF STUDY

The purpose of this study is to analysis the problems associated with extended family system in Nigeria and the effect it has on educational attainment of children. It is also hoped to highlight some of the contributing factors of to the society.

This study also aimed at given some useful suggestions on how to overcome the problems associated with extended family. It is also hoped that the research findings would go a long way to solve the emotional fracas with the family system.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.   Does extended family have any effect on the children?

2.   Does extended family have any role in the family upkeep?

3.   Does extended family have any emotional impact on children?

4.   Does extended family help to unite the family bond?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is hoped that information gathered from the study would be useful to parents. It will also educate the parents on the factors that could enhance child’ performance in school.

This research will make them aware of the problems associated with extended family system in Nigeria and helping to find solution to them.

It is broadly assumed too that the country will gain from this research as this will highlight the problems found in extended family and how they affect the educational performance of a child.

SCOPE OF STUDY

The study on the problems associated with extended family system is structure into five chapters, chapter one talks about the introduction, following this is the literature review in chapter two chapter three data collection and analysis while chapter four is the interpretation of result and chapter five is he summary, conclusion and recommendation and it restricted to Egor Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Extended family:          It consists of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins

Polygamous:      A system of marriage in which a man maries more than one wife at a time.