Small Family Norm

The size of the family is a matter of great importance not only for the country as a whole but also for the welfare and health of the individual, the family and  the community.

         Our country has adopted the goal of universalising the         two-child family norm by  the end of this century. The         achievement of this goal has consequences both at the          micro level i.e. level of individuals and family. and at the         macro level i.e. for the nation as a whole.

NEED TO ADOPT TWO-CHILD FAMILY NORM

          Although our country has made significant progess in        various developmental sectors sonce Independence,         the fruits of these developments have not  reached major        segments of the poor. One improtant reason for this is that        many of the gains have been neutralised by the rapid growth         of the population. The country does not have the resources        to bring about a radical qualitative improvement in the lives         of hundreds of millions and at the same time to provide to        millions more. A slower increase in population would enable        qualitative changes to take place.

WHAT DO WE UNDERSTAND BY NORMS?

           A norm in relation to family size, according to sociologists,         implies a pattern which sets limits for any community's         fertility behaviour.

IMPLICATIONS OF FAMILY SIZE

           The size of the family affects of quality of life of human          beings. The quality of life does not only pertain to          economic standards of living; rather it has a much wider         horizon.         Family size affects:

         - Basic human needs

         - Income and growht of the economy and savings

         - Food and nutrition-quality and quantity.

         - Uses of land and urban public system

         - Health, especially that of mother and child.

         - Education, particularly that of children.

          FAMILY SIZE AFFECTS

                

                  

 

BASIC HUMAN NEEDS

INCOME AND GROWTH OF  THE ECONOMY AND SAVINGS

FOOD AND NUTRITION QUALITY AND QUANTITY USES OF LAND AND URBAN PUBLIC SERVICES HEALTH, ESPECIALLY THAT OF MOTHER AND

CHILDREN EDUCATION PARTICULARLY THAT OF CHILDREN

       Let us discuss how the various spheres mentioned above      are affected by family size.

FAMILY SIZE AND BASIC HUMAN NEEDS

       Besides food, clothing and shelter, primary health care        and basic education are essential needs, How are these       being affected?

BASIC HUMAN NEEDS

             

BIGGER THE FAMILY LOWER THE SHARE OF BASIC NEEDS

       In any society, other things being equal, the larger the size       of the family, the relatively smaller  will be the per capita        share of basic needs for individuals and the family.Similarly,       declining size and fewer members of the family results in        bigger per capita share required for existence and        development.

Income, savings and resources

         

FAMILY SIZE, FOOD AND NUTRITION

       Every increase in family size results in decrease in per capita       food and nutrition availability and this slows down the quality        of nutrition and improvement of health standards. this, in turn,       has its effect on productivity of labour, which ultimately       affects the overall economic development.

 

       

        family size, fragmentation of land and urban public system

      Preference for a large family size eventually leads to        fragmentation of land holdings, expecially in rural        communities which has its effect on low per capita       producivity. This results in migration of the population        from rural to urban areas which,in turn, exerts pressures 

       on urban public systems, leading to poor social and        ecoomic development.

     

FAMILY SIZE AND HEALTH

      Various studies have shown higher morbility among       mothers and children inlarge sized families. Early        marriage, followed by too early pregnancy, too many       children, too frequently till the advance reproductive        age of the mother, affect the health of the mother as        well as that of the child.

        A study done by WHO in Southern Indian with a         sample of 6000 women, has shown that infant mortality         was 200 when the birth interval was only one year and it         was 80 when the birth interval was 3-4 years.

FAMILY SIZE AND EDUCATION          

       Family size is seen to be related to education, where the       mother's education is high, the family size is usually       smaller and infant mortality is also relatively lower. The       level of the mother's education and its impact on family        size is evident in the State of Kerala, where female literacy       is the highest, and it has the lowest birth rate, and the       child mortality rate is also the lowest in the country.

WHAT ARE THE HAZARDS OF A LARGE AND UNPLANNED FAMILY?

       There are certain hazards of large and unplanned families       (as shown in the chart below) about which people need       to be aware. These hazards are going to affect not only       the mothers and children, but also the family as a whole,        and subsequently, the community and the nation.

HAZARDS OF UNPLANNED LARGE FAMILY

TOO EARLY MARRIAGE- Health hazards in pregnancy and child birth

( below 18 years for girls below 21 years for boys)

- More chances to develop cancer of cervix (neck of womb)

- Discontinuation of education leads to lack of proper job opportunity.

too early pregnancy

- Abortion- Still birth (dead baby)- Premature birth- Low Early Pregnancy - Low birth weight baby- Increased infant mortality- Increased maternal mortality- Increased risk of sickness of mother and child

TOO FREQENT PREGNANCIES

- Increased risk from pregnancy and child birth- Ill-health of mother- Low birth weight or sick baby- divided attention between children- Economic hardship- Health hazards in pregnancy and birth- More chances to develop cancer of  cervix (neck of womb)

TOO MANY PREGNANCIES

- Unhappiness and disharmony in the family- Difficulty in providing proper educationto the children.

TOO FREQUENT AND TOO MANY PREGNANCIES

 

- lack of ATTENTION TO EARLIER CHILD- ILL HEALTH OF

MOTHER- INCREASED RISKS OF- LOW BIRTH WEIGHT BABY- SICK BABY- ECONOMIC HARDSHIP- UNHAPPINESS AND DISHARMONY IN THE FAMILY- DIFFICULTY IN PROVIDING PROPER EDUCATION TO THE CHILDREN

PREGNANCY TILL LAST AGE 

 

- Increased risk of pregnancy- Increased risk of child-birth- Congenital abnormalities common e.g.mongoloid child- Loss of social status

WHY PLAN A SMALL FAMILY:

       A small planned family has many advantages and benefits.       The planning for a family starts from marriages at the       proper age. Keeping in view the legal and biological        aspects,a girl should not be married before the completion        of eighteen years of borth the mother and the child is when       the woman is between 20-30 years of age. The woman's       twenties are, therefore, considered the optimal        reproductive period in a woman's life.

ADVANTAGES OF  A SMALL AND PLANNED FAMILY

 - Reasonable gap between twochildren will give the mothersufficient time to replenish her bodynutrients depleted due to the earlierpregnancy.

advantages for the mothers - Loss of fear about unwanted pregnancy.- More time and energy to give properattention and love to her children.

- More time to participate in other fruitful activities like education, vocational training, community projects etc.- Can avail of better job opportunitieswhen not tied down by small children.

ADVANTAGES FOR THE CHILD

- Less chances of foetal death, birthdefects, mortality during infancy andchildhood. - Conducive atmosphere for properphysical and pshychological growth of the child.- Gets proper nutrition, education,parental care and love.

 ADVANTAGES FOR THE COMMUNITY AND COUNTRY

 

 

- Convervation of natural resources and savings.- Enough schools, hospitals and other basic services.- More employment- Planned families would gradually bring happiness, peace, harmony, prosperity.

 

ADVANTAGES FOR THE FATHER

- Can provide sound economic base for the family.- Can provide children with better education, comfort, food, clothing, recreation etc.- Can be more relaxed and enjoy goodhealth.- Improved living standards, better health,more productive labour force

 

WHAT EFFORTS ARE BEING MADE TO HELP PEOPLE ADOPT THE SMALL FAMILY NORM ?

The efforts are being made in two ways. First, by providingthe necessary information and services to help people adopt the small family norm. Secondly, attempts are being made to change the associated environmental factors i.e. increase infemale literacy. raising the status of women and theage at marriage, improvements in general social and economic conditions, which are often

described as beyond familyplanning measures.

CONCLUSION :

While it may appear self-evident that two-child family is a happy family, widespread acceptance of the two-child norms has not yet taken place in the country due to varioys religious, cultural and socio-economic factors. Concerted efforts,therefore, need to be made to provide the necessaryinformation and education to the people, especially in ruralareas and urban slums to motivate them to accept the two-child family norm. It is indeed impertive on the part of each one of is to advocate and adopt the two-child family norm and constructively contribute our share in our own work settings and in the developmental effortsaimed at achieving the quality of life and physical, mentaland socio-economic well-being of the people, and the family and the community at large.