TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 2. INTRODUCTION TO THE FAMILY 3. OUTLINE OF THE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE MODEL 4. IDENTIFY THE STAGE OF THE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE THAT THE COUPLE IS CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING 5. KEY PRINCIPLES AND SECOND ORDER CHANGES THE FAMILY IS EXPERIENCING 6. THE EXTEND TO WHICH THE COUPLE'S FAMILY LIFE CYCLE ADHERES TO CARTER AND McCOLDRICK'S MODEL (1989) 7. THE COUPLE'S EXPERIENCES PERTAINING TO THE PRECEDING DEVELOPMENT STAGE OF THE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE 8. VERTICAL STRESSORS 9. HORIZONTAL STRESSORS 10. SYSTEM-LEVEL STRESSORS 11. THE COUPLE'S RELATIONSHIP STRENGHTS 12. CRITIQUE OF THE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE MODEL 13. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. INTRODUCTION This is an Interview report of …show more content…
The Family makes way to include in-laws and grandchildren. Families recognise that each person is an autonomous individual and adult children need to be encourage to pursue independent lives. Grandchildren are added and extended family grows, with on-going contact that does not interfere with the new nuclear family, which now work towards developing own boundary. Parents have to realise that adult children no longer need their guidance and economic assistance Stage six: families in later life Begins with first child leaving home, continues until all kids left, ends with retirement. Middle generation take on a more active role in the family. The elderly generation are faced with major challenges of retirement, widowhood, becoming grandparents, loss of independence. Elderly couples are more martially then parentally oriented as they spend more time with one another and less time being responsible for children. With adequate leisure time, income, good health – the couple can enjoy each other as much as the honeymoon phase. Illness and pending degeneration due to age – cause depression; middle generation left to decide if parent can still care for themselves; financial burden 4. IDENTIFY THE STAGE OF THE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE THAT THE COUPLE IS CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING According to the Family Life Cycle proposed by Carter and McGoldrick, the
The concept of family has changed in many perspectives throughout the years. Nuclear families started back in the 1950s also known as ‘ideal families’. Today family comes in many varieties whether it 's nuclear, accordion, or extended families and even same sex marriage. One thing that is undoubtedly true is that family will always be the one that you have an unbreakable bond with. American families have evolved in many ways leading us away from what was known as nuclear families.
Later middle-age parent may have less time for their children since they might struggle with their own aging parents and career responsibilities. Later middle-age parenthood can be financially more stressful since their children may still be financially dependent on them. Another duty will be finding a balance to stay in touch with their child and other priorities of their life like their career. Even married children may not be able to improve their parent's lives by presenting new family members (in-laws, grandchildren).
No matter what background you come from or how you were raised, family is extremely important. According to Malinowski, “Family is a necessary institution for fulfilling the task of child rearing in society”(Conley, 2013). Society has come a long way when it comes to family and it is much different than it was in the 1950’s. Not all families are nuclear families. A nuclear family is having a mother, father, and children that are all biological (Conley, 2013). This kind of family is what some would call more “traditional.” Today in the twenty first century it is getting harder and harder to find families that have actually stayed together. There are so many different kinds of families in today’s society, and more and more families are becoming blended families. A blended family is when two families come together (Conley, 2013). Many families today have single mons, single, dads, and even same sex parents. Family is not always the people that live in the same house as you, family also consists of extended family. An extended family is a network that goes beyond the main “nuclear” family (Conley,
There is an increase in the numbers of different family types, be them lone parent families, stepfamilies, cohabiting couples, same sex couples, or children living at home for a longer period. The broad structure of family have complicated relations in some cases, where for example, ex-step-siblings may still be considered as family, which leaves a complex family dynamic. Although the traditional family structure of a nuclear family still remains as the most common family organisation, ‘variation has become a normal part of normal family life for many people in modern Britain’ (SIRC, online: pg.8).
The essay “Stone Soup” highlights many topics related to the common “issue” of families who are binuclear. Throughout the years, divorce has become a recurring event in couple’s marriages. In the essay, Kingslover writes, “.. a culture in which serial monogamy and the consequent reshaping is families are the norm— gets diagnosed as ‘failing’.” By saying this, the author basically expresses her disapproval of our society's views of “broken” families. People too often judge what they see on the outside, and do not pay enough attention to what truly occurs in the lives of these families. Being a complete family—a father, mother, and children— is what defines normalcy to society, but how often does this work? The author of “Stone Soup” wrote, “To judge a family’s value by its tidy symmetry is to purchase a book for its cover.” To rephrase it simply, just as it is unfair to judge a book by its cover, it is evenly unfair to determine a family's successfulness by simply looking at how together or not together they present themselves. The idea of the nuclear family is not necessarily the ultimate way to achieve happiness, and throughout “Stone Soup,” the author intends on explaining that to us. A family containing step siblings, step parents, half-brothers and half-sisters, and multiple grandparents, could possibly be the happiest family, or maybe even the unhappiest, but it is not us who determines that. Nor is it the standard society has set for
A nuclear family is universal and is defined as a two generational grouping; consisting of a father, mother and their children, all living in the same household. The idea of the nuclear family was first noticed in Western Europe in 17th century. The concept that narrowly defines a nuclear family is essential to the stability in modern society and has been promoted by modern social conservatives in the United States and has been challenged inadequate to describe the complexity of actual family relations. In this essay, I shall be assessing the views that the nuclear family functions to benefit all its members and society as a whole, from a
The elderly experience many changes in marriage, family, and peer relations (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Generally retirees who are married have been in their marriages for many years. These couples have a routine that they are used to and have followed for many years. There are unsaid rules of who handles the finances and who handles family responsibilities, such as taking care of the home. Retirement may disrupt these roles and routines and change everything about them. Medical issues can also take a toll on a marriage (Dale, Smith, & Norlin, 2009). If one spouse becomes ill or debilitated in any way, the healthy spouse may become angry, depressed, and frustrated with taking care of all of the responsibilities. If a spouse dies it can be very difficult for the living spouse to deal with (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2010). Retirees who are not married also face new problems when faced with retirement. This group of people must learn to live on a fixed income. Peer relationships change because older people tend to reduce their number of contracts with the world and tend to be less active and withdraw from their social surroundings (Dale, Smith, & Norlin, 2009). This is called disengagement. This is a very difficult task, and only a few people can adjust with it smoothly. Those who were more active in social activities in their earlier lives, find it most difficult. Older people also
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, a nuclear family can be described as a group of people who are united by ties of partnership and parenthood, consisting of a pair of adults and their socially recognized children (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2015). Because most children are most exposed to their parents in this manner, the nuclear family is regarded as the basic social unit where a child learns adult conduct. Based on Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, the way an adult perceives life is determined by the experiences the person had as a child (Moynihan, 1965). Consequently, the stability of a child’s nuclear family can have a large impact on their subsequent behavior as they age.
A brief view of the 4 decades within the periods of 1950 to 1990 would show us a significant shift from the conventional nuclear family to the non-conventional modern family. Starting from the 1950s, the families were nuclear, where members worked together, understood their roles, and did what was expected of them; by the 1960s, there were a few sitcoms that began to undermine the television parent’s authority by privileging the independence of nearly adult or adult children; by the 1970s, the authoritative father began to disappear as they were no longer
However, these families are shown are to being to settle down as the age of their children increased, this indicates that parents are well aware of this effect, however at times is unavoidable.
In this paper, I will use the sociological imagination to connect my personal experiences of growing up in a nuclear family to comparison of growing up in a divorced family. I’m from a nuclear family and my best friend is from a divorced family. “Some people still think the average American family consists of a husband who works in paid employment and a wife who looks after the home, living together with their children” according to Giddens, Anthony pg. 447. That’s not the case in many households. There are many differences, from values, financial issues, and how having one parent opposed to, two parents growing up. Growing up in a nuclear family household has given me the opportunity to have both parents supporting me and always being there, having both parents at special events, giving me the guidance from both perspectives man, and women, love, and financial aid. My best friends parents have been divorced for over 19 years, her living style is much different. She has to make certain days available to visit her father, and her mother has financial difficulties.
Families over the course of life face hardships and changes as a natural and predictable aspect of family life.
In many families in our society today, the parents are a part of the sandwich generation and now are raising kids that are growing up to take part in the boomerang generation. The sandwich generation makes up of people who are in their thirties or forties that are trying to raise their own children while looking after their elderly parents. On the other hand, the boomerang generation consists of young adults who graduate high school and college to only come back and live with their parent and rely on their support. As a result of this, there comes many challenges for both the parents and the child since the sandwich generation is stuck in the conflicting nature of taking care of their elderly parents while providing for their children by meeting their needs of emotional love and providing tangible needs. However, many realize that their kids are entering into adulthood and now these parents face the challenge of pushing their children to be independent and take on responsibility while trying to secure a stable retirement.
In the last 50 years or so, family life has changed becoming more diverse and complex, which has been the source of research by social scientists especially the effects of divorce on children. Marriage is no longer an institution that couples need to suffer if times are difficult, divorce is easier and cohabitation is more morally acceptable. The ideology of the nuclear family whilst not outdated is not the only type of family in which to raise children. The modern more complex family arrangements include step families, lone parents, step sibling