Chapter 19

Your Family Ties:

The Family Life Cycle

Families Today

* Nuclear Family: consists of a husband, wife, and children.

* Single-parent Family: headed by one parent.

* Blended Family: when a single parent remarries.

* Extended Family: grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins.

Family Functions

* Nurture: providing care and attention needed to promote development.

Meeting Physical NeedsPromoting Intellectual DevelopmentMeeting Emotional NeedsEncouraging Social Skills* Socialization: learning how to interact

with other people.Instilling Moral Values

What Is The Family Life Cycle?

Family Life Cycle:

The process of growth and change a family goes through over the years.

What Is The Family Life Cycle?

Throughout the years families experience many changes that affect the family as a

whole. The family life cycle is a model that was created to

show the five different stages of the cycle. While it is very accurate in most cases, all

families are different and the model can’t reflect ALL

variations, but it does give a general picture of how families must adapt to

changing situations and priorities.

Stage One:Beginning

Beginning Stage: Traditionally, the family

life cycle begins when two people marry.

Priorities at this stage include building a

relationship, working out respective roles, and setting goals for

the future.

Stage Two:Parenting

Parenting Stage:

When the couple become parents, their

priorities focus on raising children. As

they devote time and effort to caring for

children, they have less time for activities

as a couple.

Stage Three:Launching

Launching Stage:This time of transition occurs as the children begin to leave home

and become independent. They must adjust to new responsibilities, just

as their parents must learn to relate to them

as adults.

Stage Four:Middle-Age

Middle-Age Stage:After children leave home,

parents have more time to focus on being a couple again. The may reassess their careers, take up new hobbies, and become more involved in community activities. Preparing for retirement becomes a more immediate concern.

Stage Five:Retirement

Retirement Stage:Retirement gives more time for leisure activities. A couple may move to a

smaller home or to a retirement community. In this stage, aging related issues such as health and independence are more likely to be major

concerns.

Variations

Just like the variations with types of families,there are always exceptions to every rule. Forinstance: Some people marry and never have children. Other people become parents later in life when

most are retiring. Still in other families, the parenting and

launching stages may be occurring at the same time.

Some people retire and continue to work part-time, and/or become substitute parents to their grandchildren.

Making Connections

What other courses do you have in school that talk about certain types of cycles?

There is one major cycle you learn about in elementary school and re-visit in middle school and high school. It, much like the family life cycle continues to go round and round. It has 4 stages as opposed to 5, but is still very similar. What is it………………?

THE WATER CYCLE

The water cycle occurs

in the following pattern:

A. Evaporation

B. Condensation

C. Precipitation

D. Collection

And then it starts all over

again with the first step.

Making Connections

In much the same way, the

family life cycle occurs in the

following pattern:

I. Beginning

II. Parenting

III. Launching

IV. Middle-Age

V. Retirement

And it starts all over again

with step one.

Quick Review

Stage One:

Beginning

Stage Two:

Parenting

Stage Three:

Launching

Stage Four:

Middle-Age

Stage Five:

Retirement

Trends Affecting Families

Roles and ResponsibilitiesSmaller FamiliesDivorce and RemarriageSingle-Parent HouseholdsLonger Life SpansIncreased MobilityAdvances in Technology

Strengthening Families

RespectCommunicationTrustEmotional SupportSharing* Support System: all the people and

organizations a family can turn to for help.