Journal“The happiest moments of my life have

been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.”

Thomas Jefferson

What have been the happiest memories with your family?

Family Forms

Millions of Kids• Children living in blended families,

including either a step-parent or step-sibling.

• Children living with both natural parents and full brothers or sisters.

• Children living in extended families including other people such as uncles, cousins, aunts or grandparents.

• Children living in one-parent (MOM only) families.

• Children living in one-parent (DAD only) families.

• 8 million

• 3.6 million

• 7 million

• 17 million

• 42 million

Family Type Number of Children

2006 statistics

Flexibility, adaptability and tolerance for

change are helpful skills for making family

life terrific!

Relationship• What?

• An interaction between two or more people.

• Who?• Parents, siblings, peers, spouse,

grandparents

• They are constantly changing.

• An individual is going through various stages of his life cycle while the family is going through its cycle.

Family Life Cycle

Leaving Home

marriage

Paren

ting

Childbearing Family 0-2 1/2 years old

Ret

irem

ent

Empty

Nest

Laun

chin

g

Laun

chin

g

Cente

r

Cente

r

Family with Preschoolers 2 ½ - 6 yrs

Family with School Children 6 -13 yrs old

Parenting adolescents 14-20 yr old

Independence

Family Life Cycle• Stage 1: Beginning Family

• The married couple establish their home but do not yet have children.

• Stage 2: Childbearing Family• From the birth of the first child until that

child is 2 ½ years old.• Stage 3: Family with Preschoolers

• When the oldest child is between the ages of 2 ½ and 6.

• Stage 4: Family with School Children• When the oldest child is between the ages

of 6 and 13.

Family Life Cycle Continued...

• Stage 5: Family with Teenagers•When the oldest child is between the

ages of 13 and 20.• Stage 6: Launching Center

•From the time the oldest child leaves the family for independent adult life till the time the last child leaves.

• Stage 7: Empty Nest•From the time the children are gone till

the marital couple retires from employment.

• Stage 8: Aging Family•From retirement till the death of the

surviving marriage partner.

What do you learn about relationships during each stage of

development?

• You are to write a case study for each stage depicting successful completing each stage of family development.

• You can write a one page story of family going through the stages. Please include extensions for when the children move on to their own stages.

• You can make a poster describing the stages of family development in detail.

Write down your definition of the stereotypical family.

• Working dad• Stay-at-home

mom• 2 or 3 children

Only 10% of all households are in this family form.

American Family Forms• Living Alone

• 1 of 24 adults remain single throughout their life.

• 66% of single people are women.

• Living Together• Persons of the opposite sex sharing living

quarters.• Couples who live together before marriage,

divorce just as often as those who marry first.

• Marrying Later in Life• Average age to marry: men - 25.9, women - 23.6• More young people are not marrying or are

marrying later.

• Couples Having Children Later in Life• More couples are waiting to become

parents until their careers are established.• Estimated cost to raise child is $200,000

• Couples With Fewer Children• The average number of children has

dropped from 3.6 in 1957 to 1.8.• Couples With No Children

• Due to career commitments, fertility problems or just because they enjoy their childless lifestyles, many couples are remaining “Double Income, No Kids” couples.

American Family Forms

American Family Forms

• Divorced Adults• Approximately 60% of all divorces involve

couples with children in the home.• Single-Parent Families

• About 1 in 4 children live with only one parent.• The number of single-parent homes has more

than doubled in the past 20 years• Divorced women’s standard of living drops

73%, while divorced men jumps 42%.• About 50% of the children in divorced families

report having not seen their father in the last year and only 1 of 6 see him once a week.

American Family Forms

• Grown Children Moving In With Their Parents• Families with two children and young parents

living at home with their parents has doubled in 25 years.

• Grandparents Living With Families• With greater longevity, there are more elderly

people.• Blended Families

• Divorced parents, especially fathers are likely to remarry.

• 13% of today’s children are stepchildren• Flexibility and humor will assist in the adjustment.

• Working Mothers• The fastest growing segment of the work

force is women with children under the age of three.

• More than half of American mothers with infants less than a year old are working outside the home.

• Day care for these children can cost up to ¼ the family budget.

• Working mothers have 15 fewer hours of leisure a week than fathers.

American Family Forms

Scenarios• Your marriage is headed for divorce.

• How would you settle property, child custody, divorce costs?

• You are a single mother.• How will you cope emotionally and financially?

• Elderly parents need to move in with you.• What conflicts and adjustments will arise?

• You just remarried. • How will family discipline be handled? How

will household chores be divided? What name do you expect the children to call you? Where should you live? How should you divide physical space?

Family Forms Quiz

How Strong Is Your Family?Traditions

Have this completed for next class period.