Roles and Responsibilities in a Family

Class 6 Social Science · Chapter 9: Family and Community · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 9.2

Learn

On Sunday morning, Nisha's house is busy. Her father fixes a leaking tap, her aunt makes breakfast, her grandmother helps the little cousins with homework, and Nisha waters the plants. "Many hands make light work," her grandfather says, folding the washing.

In a family, each member has roles (what they do) and responsibilities (what they are trusted to take care of). Elders often guide, earn and make big decisions; they also pass on stories and traditions. Children help in small ways and their main responsibility is to learn.

Housework, cooking, earning money and caring for others are all real work. When these jobs are shared fairly between men and women, young and old, no one is overburdened and everyone feels valued. Caring for grandparents and the sick is an important family responsibility.

Families also make decisions together, like how to spend money or plan a celebration. Listening to everyone, including children, and respecting each other's views makes a family stronger.

Explore: how can a child help at home?

1. Sort each job.

Remember

• Each family member has roles and responsibilities; children's main responsibility is to learn and help.
• Housework and caring are real work and should be shared fairly.

Quick check

Why is it good to share housework fairly?

1. No one is overburdened and everyone feels valued
2. So that one person does everything
3. Housework is not real work
4. To make the house bigger

Think about it

Make a list of all the work done in your home in one day. Who does most of it? Could it be shared better?

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.