The Family Life Cycle

By Mrs. McCannInterior Design

The emotional and intellectual stages you pass through from childhood to your retirement years as a member of a family are called the Family Life Cycle. In each stage you face challenges in your family life that cause you to develop or gain new skills. Developing these skills helps you work through the changes that nearly every family goes through.

• Problems that can prevent smooth sailing in life:

• severe illness• financial problems• death of a loved one

Single/Independent Stage As you enter young adulthood (beginning at

age 19) you begin to separate emotionally from your family.

What happens in this stage?

You strive to become fully able to support yourself:– emotionally– physically– socially – financially

You begin to define your individual identity.

You develop intimate Peer relationships

You may rent or own an apartment or home

Beginning or Couple Stage• The newly married couple starts a life together

by combining both family systems (yours and your spouse’s).

• They may rent or own an apartment or home that accommodates 2 people.

Childbearing and Parenting Stage

• You both decide will you have children or not, how many children will you have?

• You must adjust the marital system to make space for: – your children– juggling child rearing– financial tasks– household tasks

• You must now include parents and grandparents

Space grows tighter with each child. New considerations:– visiting relatives – financial constraints

Launching/ Empty Nest• The stage of launching adult children begins

when your first child leaves home and ends with the “empty nest.”

• Free from the everyday demands of parenting, you may: – rekindle your own marriage– reassess your career goals– develop adult-to-adult relationships between you and your grown children– deal with the disabilities and death of our own

parents (Sandwich Generation)

husband

wife

kids, g.parents

• Rooms in the house begin to empty. Rooms may become reassigned to new purposes like an art room, office or sewing room.

Retirement stageMany changes occur – welcome new family members– see others leave your family – children marry or divorce – you become a grandparent

This stage can be a great adventure: – free from the responsibilities of raising your

children– Can enjoy the fruits of your life’s work

• Change includes dealing with: – the loss of your spouse – your siblings – peers– preparation for your own death

• Downsizing to a new smaller home is often the goal of retirees. New housing options may include living with your children, in a Senior Apartment, in Assisted Living or a Nursing Home.