ABSTRACT
Household functions include co-residence, economic cooperation, reproductive activities such as food preparation and consumption, and socialization of children. It is mistaken, however, to regard ‘household’ as unproblematically descriptive by comparison with the valueladen ‘family’. Households are also cultural constructs. We should not assume that our society’s understanding of ‘household’ is shared by others. For example, in parts of subSaharan Africa the functions mentioned above may be spread across several residential units.
