Means by which a Family begins

Courtship 

Courtship is normally the first sign which indicates that two people are interested in family life. It is the act or process whereby one tries to win the love of another. At first an individual may court a number of persons. They engage in activities such as going to the cinema, parks, beaches and even having picnics etc in an effort to get to know each other better.  After dating several individuals, two people may eventually ‘get serious’ and stop dating others. After this stage, a legal marriage follows preceded by an engagement or the couple may decide to ‘shack up’ (live together) and continue a common law relationship.

Other means by which families begin :

• Arranged Marriage– in this situation the parents chose a spouse for their son/daughter.
• Shot- gun marriage – where two people are forced to marry because of the occurrence of pregnancy.
• Marriage of convenience – a person marries another because of wealth, status or position; the situation where a national decides to marry a foreigner so as to facilitate the latter obtaining citizenship also falls under this category.
• Family tradition – in some families, when a spouse is dead, the surviving partner is married to the most eligible family member of the deceased.
• Elope – is a marriage conducted without the knowledge of the couple’s family and friends, particularly their parents.