Mine would take me to parties and pubs till the early mornings of the night. Emotions were a tabboo, not to be talked about. Me dancing as a 7year-old was something that was reason to have a good laugh.
It was a grandmother who left my sister on her own in a playpen with no toys to the point that she would start playing with her poo nappy and get it all over her.
That's the nicer bits, believe you me.
Real scary thing is that my parents were married, had respectable jobs, we went on yearly holidays, we lived in a nice house in a nice area, couldn't ask for any more material than i had wanted (apart from the chopper, not allowed cause i was a girl. Girls don't ride choppers!)
Refused to go home aged 12 and was put into care. Much more fun than it ever was at home. And no one mentioned dysfunctional families at the time.
So, to you. what defines a dysfunctional family?
2007-03-27 22:52:49 · 9 answers · asked by Part Time Cynic 7 in Family & Relationships ➔ Family
i suppose that i would define a dysfunctional family to be, a family where one, or more than one member is not given the respect, love and discipline they need in which to flourish
2007-03-28 03:05:05 · answer #1 · answered by fat momma 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Dysfunctional families - alot of those these days. Definition - dysfunctional is when your not normal. All families are dysfunctional one way of the other. look at it this way we choose our friends, we had no choice with our blood relatives! Bummer I know. Scary part of what you wrote is that most dysfunctional families are middle class to filthy rich. People tend to lose sight of what is important and there is no compromise. Materialistic attitude starts sipping in and the worst part is they are not even sorry or guilty that they let material possession take over something as wonderful and fulfilling as watching your child grew up happy and carefree.
2007-03-28 08:00:12 · answer #2 · answered by kk 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
my family is dysfunctional. every friday night we were forced to sit and watch porno movies (as a family) but we were not allowed to be interested in the opposite sex. and then each night we were made to sit down (all 6 of us kids in a certain order) and recite (all together) a prayer for the food we had received that day. we were not allowed to talk to other people about anything. we were told every morning before school to "go to school, behave ourselves, and don't tell anybody anything." beleive me, this too is just the tip f the iceburg.
Its no wonder that one of my sisters left her husband (who made 84k yr.) and 2 kids for a man that looked like our brother from the back and the man who murdered our sister from the front. (that is dysfunctional) one sister was murdered the other is estranged and only contacts my mother sporadically. i do not associate with my one brother and his wife. one brother is married but lost all his kids ans the other 35 yr.old brother can't seem to find a decent girl who is not a junkie or single.
2007-03-28 10:59:10 · answer #3 · answered by angel1 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The definition of a dysfunctional family is in the eye of the beholder. What has been labeled "dysfunctional" in most cases than none are "functional". It is all about what works for a particular family and not what an outsider sees. My family laughs at our dysfunctionalism.
2007-03-28 07:52:59 · answer #4 · answered by Bethy4 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Poo Nappy??? Sounds like a dysfunctional family hint to me.
Every family is quirky.....even dysfunctional. But you look at one and think "Man...these people are really mucked up!!"
Well....there's your answer right there.
2007-03-28 06:00:20 · answer #5 · answered by Mr. Wizard 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
oh jeez...where do i start...lets just say that you had it bad, but i had it worse..even though i am grown up now, my family still have issues and sadly i have cut ALL ties with every one of them....i have raised my kids differently than i was raised, maybe that's why they are happy all the time, i can tell you that i don't ever remember anything being fun when i was a kid apart from when i used to visit my Nana, now that was fun because she was always a happy lady soooo....lets leave it there....
2007-03-28 06:00:58 · answer #6 · answered by Dazzlebox 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Ever family in some way is dysfunctional. There is no "normal." Not really.
2007-03-28 05:56:32 · answer #7 · answered by H 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
lots of families are dysfunctional. my mum says its families that commit incest, knowingly allow their son to sexually abuse his younger sisters and turning them into lesbians. but thats the top end of the scale.
i dont dare tell her that we are also a dysfunctional family (only not to the extent of the family i just mentioned). she would probably hit me. mum and dad did not love each other and rarely had proper converations with me. they would often laugh at me about my dancing, things i said and did, if i ever mentioned a boys name, etc.
after my dad left, in my teenage years my mum had a series of men, mostly all alcoholics and druggies. 4 of them she moved in after knowing them for a Very short time! i was told to change the way i dress because her bloke was staring at my boobs. also, mum suspected one of her boyfriends of lifting my sisters nightdress up while she was asleep, however she did nothing about it. she brought all her blokes drink and she often could not pick us up from school because she had had a drink.
she even kicked me out (aged 17) because i stood up to one of her men, who was verbally nasty to us behind mums back. mum would often be in the pub and we would have to go to the pub to spend time with her (her excuse was usually that her man didnt trust her but a decent parent would have put their children 1st before pleasing their bloke).
getting drunk, breathing in smoke and drugs, being chatted up and having rude things said to you by grown men is not the best way for a young teenager to spend her evenings! also seeing my mum throwing 'whities' all the time and having to look after her because she couldnt handle her drugs.
needless to say, this had affects on both me and my younger sister. my sister basicaly turned into my mum. i remember one night complaining to mum that she shouldnt be shagging her boyfriend in the room next door and waking us up when we had school the next day -she should have some respect! and my 14 year old sister came in and said "just go and shag someone, it wont bother you as much then". my sister is now as desperate and clingy as my mum and i have had the opposite affect, i hate and do not trust men and find it difficult to cope with everyday situations as i am very shy due to all the piss taking and neglect as i was growing up and i even took an overdose to try to end it all.
to me, my family is a dysfunctional family but to my parents, we're the perfect little family and they have done the best by me...
2007-03-28 08:18:42 · answer #8 · answered by sparky 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
One where they don't get on - siblings all fall out or parents and kids fall out.
2007-03-28 06:03:59 · answer #9 · answered by KANGA 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋