International Day of Families

The International Day of Families is to increase knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families. Recognised as the basic unit of society, the United Nations acknowledges how families have changed over time, both in structure and due to global socioeconomic trends, and that families and family-oriented policies and programmes are vital for the achievement of many of the Sustainable Development Goals, a set of 17 goals aiming to eliminate poverty, discrimination, abuse and preventable deaths, address environmental destruction, and usher in an era of development for all people, everywhere. As outlined by Relationships Australia, a family can be made up of anyone a person considers to be their family. A family shares emotional bonds, common values, goals and responsibilities. Family members contribute significantly to the wellbeing of each other, and when a family includes children, one or more adults may take on an involved role in the child’s life and become a parent or carer. Parents and carers may not necessarily be biologically related to the child or even live with the child all the time. A child may have one or several parents or carers. In addition to their biological parents, this could include grandparents, step-parents, aunts and uncles, foster parents, adoptive parents, and any other person who fulfils a significant portion of the parenting and caregiving for the child.

Author: Tamia Sheldon. September 17th 2013 by Xist Publishing