Family Structures and

Legacies
One Filipino family trait that is known across different races is
establishing and having strong family ties.
Family, as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary, is the basic
unit of society. It is composed of individuals living together in
one household either connected by marriage, blood, or by legal
arrangement.
One of the family structures and the most common kind of
structure dominated the Philippines is the “extended family”
on which, we are fond of being in the same roof together with
our mother, father, aunts, uncles, grandfather, grandmother,
and cousins. In a typical Filipino family, though an adult female
member gets married, the groom will bring her to their house
to live in. However, as time goes by, this culture changes and
varies, family by family across generations.
 Activity 1: Being a Leader
You may answer the
activity by writing the
characteristics of a
servant leader on the
lines provided below.
Traits can be based from
your own experience as a
leader at home, in class
or in your community.
Now that you know the traits of a servant leader, let us try
to look at a human figure inside a house. The house is a
place where your family lives together. At home, who do you
think is the leader? Who leads your household
 Activity 2: GENOGRAM
A genogram or family tree is a useful tool to gather
information about a person’s family. This visual
representation of a family can help us to identify patterns or
themes within families that may be influencing or driving a
person’s current behaviour.
Symbols for drawing the genogram or family
tree:

Female symbol- name, age

De facto relationship-
commencement date or
Male symbol- name, age
ages

Unknown gender
Separation- date or ages
Married-add the year
or ages
 Symbols for drawing the genogram or family
tree:

This can be used enclose

Divorce- date, ages
the member living
together currently
Death
Very close

Conflictual relationship Distant Relationship

Family defined
• Family comes from the Latin word familia which means
group of people living in the household. Family could be
related by blood, by birth, or by other relationship.
• Family is the basic unit of society. It is the smallest
organization in the community. It is said to be a group of
individual living together in one household.
• Family comes in different forms. It could vary from one family
to another. It is usually composed of mother, father and
children; some other includes grandparents, aunts, uncles,
cousins, and other relatives.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF FAMILY STRUCTURES

Family Definition Example

Structure
It is also known as Mother, father, and
“conjugal” or children
“traditional” family,
Nuclear Family
consisting of married
couples and their
offspring
Family Structure Definition Example

This type of family A family living

includes all relatives in together with mother,
proximity, such as father, children,
grandparents, aunts, grandparents, aunts,
Extended
uncles, and cousins. uncles, and other
Family These relatives typically relatives in one roof
live together, and all
share daily household
duties.
Family Structure Definition Example

This family type includes Father with his

one parent and their children or a mother
children only. A single with her children
Single Parent parent family could be living in one
Family the result of a divorce, household
the death of one parent,
or even a single parent
adoption.
 A family includes parent who Parents,
serves as a temporary guardian for children,
one or more children to whom they foster child
Foster Family may or may not be biologically
related. Parents, children, foster
child
A family wherein parents may Parents
Adopted/ adopt a child to whom they share (mother
no blood relationship, or one and father),
Adoptive parent may adopt the child of the adopted
Family other parent. child
Bi-racial or A family wherein parents are Filipina mother,
from different races American father,
Multi-racial children
Family
Trans-racial A family wherein parents American
adopted a child with a parents, adopted
Adoptive different race Filipino children
Family
 A family wherein one of A family living
the family members is together except for
conditionally separated the father working
Conditionally from the others. This abroad or a family
Separated separation may be due to living together except
Family their job or employment or for the eldest child
could be due to serving in the
hospitalization. military
Married couple without Mother and father
Childless children only
Family
 A family where the parents have Mother, children,
divorced and remarried, stepfather, and his kids
bringing children from other Father, children,
Step Family unions together to form a new stepmother, and her
nuclear family. It is also known kids
as “blended” family because two
families were combined.
A family wherein one or both Santos family whose
parents are already an mom is already an
Immigrant immigrant of other country. immigrant of Canada --
Family Their children may be or may their mother is already
not be an immigrant. a Canadian citizen but
the rest of the family
members are not.
Gay or A family wherein one or both A lesbian mother
parents have a different sexual and her children
Lesbian orientation and part of the LGBT with a gay father
Family community
It is a family who settles together A family who
in a different place; it could be migrated from a
Migrant
from one place to another due to place because the
Family some circumstances such as the father is a military
father’s job. officer
Family Structures and
Legacies
Family
• The most important people in the lives of young children are their
parents. From birth, children depend on their mothers and fathers.
• There are also people that act parent roles in caring and protecting
children’s overall well-being. They are known as “guardians”.
• While parents are filled with expectation about their children’s
personalities, many also lack knowledge on how to provide the
best for them. Becoming a parent is usually a welcomed event, but
in some cases, parents are worried with problems regarding their
ability to ensure their child’s physical, emotional, or economic
well-being.
• Each of us have legacies passed from our ancestors, from generation
to generation such as culture, traditions, and customs. No matter
who we are, where we live, we have one thing in common—heritage.
• This heritage is transferred to us by our parents whether good or
bad. This heritage is also called legacy, which could be passed to us
socially, emotionally or spiritually.
• Transferring positive legacy to children is a delicate and important
task of adults in the family. It helps dictate the future progress and
development of a child.
• It is important to remember that passing on a spiritual, emotional,
and social legacy is a process, not an event. If parents do not
intentionally pass a legacy consistent to their beliefs, culture will
pass along its own, often leading to a negative end. Parents are
responsible on the process; God is responsible for the product.
The Emotional Legacy
• In order to prosper, children need an enduring sense of security
and stability nurtured in an environment of safety and love.
• Unfortunately, many people struggle to overcome a negative
emotional legacy that hinder their ability to cope with the
inevitable struggles of life. This is where a family’s important role
takes its place. A family can create an atmosphere that provides a
child’s fragile spirit with the nourishment and support needed for
healthy emotional growth. It will require time and consistency to
develop a sense of emotional wholeness, but the rewards are
great.
A strong emotional legacy:
• provides a safe environment in which deep emotional roots can grow
• fosters confidence through stability
• conveys a tone of trusting support
• nurtures a strong sense of positive identity
• creates a “resting place” for the soul
• demonstrates unconditional love

Which characteristics or emotional legacy did your

parents pass on to you? Which characteristics would you
like to build into the legacy that you may pass to your
future children?
The Social Legacy
• To really succeed in life, children need to learn more than
management strategies, accounting, reading, writing, and
geometry. They need to learn the art of relating to people--the art
of socialization. If they learn how to relate well to others, they will
have advantage in living life.
• Children need to gain the insights and social skills necessary to
cultivate healthy and stable relationships. As children mature, they
must learn to relate to family members, teachers, peers, friends,
and community. Eventually, they must learn to relate to coworkers
and many other types of people in their surroundings.
Nowhere can appropriate social interaction and relationships be
demonstrated more effectively than in the home. At home, children can learn
lessons about respect, courtesy, love, and involvement. Parents play a key role
in modelling and passing social legacy.
Key building blocks of children’s social legacy include:
• respect, beginning with themselves and working out to other people
• responsibility, fostered by respect for themselves, that is cultivated by
assigning children duties within the family, making them accountable for their
actions, and giving them room to make wrong choices once in a while
• unconditional love and acceptance by their parents, combined with
conditional acceptance when the parents discipline for bad behavior or
actions
• the setting of social boundaries concerning how to relate to God, authority,
peers, the environment and siblings
• rules that are given within a loving relationship
The Spiritual Legacy
• The Spiritual Legacy is the least in priority, but that is a mistake. As
spiritual beings, we adopt attitudes and beliefs about spiritual
matters from one person or another. Parents need to take the
initiative and present faith to their children.
• Parents who successfully pass along a spiritual legacy to their
children model and reinforce the unseen realities of the godly life.
We must recognize that passing a spiritual legacy means more than
encouraging our children to attend church, as important as that is.
The church is there to support parents in raising their children but it
cannot do the raising; only parents can. Parents are primary in
spiritual upbringing. Children, perceive God the way they perceive
their parents. If parents are loving, affirming, forgiving and yet
strong in what they believe, children will think of God that way.
Here are five things you do that predict whether your children will receive
the spiritual legacy a Christian parent desires. Do you:
1. Acknowledge and reinforce spiritual realities? Do your children know,
for example, that Jesus loves everyone? That God is personal, loving
and will forgive us?
2. View God as a personal, caring being who is to be loved and respected?
3. Make spiritual activities a routine part of life?
4. Clarify timeless truth — what is right and wrong?
5. Incorporate spiritual principles into everyday living.
 Activity:
Family contributes to the development of an individual. Most of the
youth nowadays are very considerate about their future. At this time,
most of you are imagining your ideal partner, and what your future life
will be.
Looking forward to your future, seven to ten years from now, many of
you might be married or are getting married. After our discussion with
regard family, write down what family structure do you like to have.
Describe what your future family would be. You can adopt rules from
your parents on how you want to train your future child. You can do this
activity either through a poem, a short story, or through illustration.
Family temporary
Latin job or employment
Extended Family Step Family
Single-Parent adoption
Blended races
Adopted Family races
Gay and Lesbian Family settle
Conjugal immigrant