Bedouin families are made up of children, parents and grand parents. Although members may sleep in different tents they generally share their meals together. Husband and wife teams tend to remain in larger groups until they have enough children to form a group of their own. Some households are created by the unions of brothers or cousins. Bedouins are not respected unless the get married and have children. There are distinct terms for relatives on the mother's side and relatives on the father's side. The smallest household unit is generally named after the senior male resident. An extended family household ceases to exist when the elderly husband or wife dies. When a mother is divorced, widowed or remarried her older sons form their own households. Inheritance is divided in accordance with Muslim law. The division of livestock is sometimes complicated by the fact that women are not allowed to own larger animals.
Children and infants are raised by the extended family. Siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins often are as much engaged in rearing children as the parents. New born babies have large naming ceremonies. At age 6 or 7 children are held responsible for taking care of simple household duties and soon after that they are regarded as full working members of the group. From late childhood onward Bedouins are treated as working members of the group.