Chapter 2 Families and Parents

Key Terms family adoption adoptive families foster family guardians nuclear family single-parent family stepfamily extended family family functions values gender role family life cycle socioeconomic status lifestyle technology

Parenting Occurs in a Family Family is defined in many different ways A person’s family of origin includes the family members with whom he or she lived during childhood morgueFile Credit: vahiju

In Your Opinion What is your definition of family?

Objective Explain ways that families may be formed. morgueFile Credit: taylorschlades

How Families Are Formed by marriage by birth by adoption through foster families through families with guardians

By Marriage When a man and a woman marry, they create a new family If one or both spouses have children from previous relationships, the family includes the couple and their children

By Birth Every baby has biological parents or birthparents, a man and a woman who gave him or her life morgueFile Credit: idahoeditor

By Adoption People choose to adopt for various reasons: If the couple is unable to have biological children If one spouse has a hereditary condition that may affect the future of any biological children To start an adoptive family and offer loving homes to children who need them

Through Foster Families Foster care is temporary care provided for a child Foster parents are adults who volunteer and are trained to provide a temporary home for a child who needs one

With Guardians Unlike foster parents, guardians provide a permanent home for children These arrangements are legally approved While guardians have some custodial and parenting responsibilities, they have to follow the decisions made by birthparents as stated in court For example, the use of monies

In Your Opinion All family members do not necessarily share a common genetic background. What do they share?

Objective Describe the five family structures and the unique characteristics of each. morgueFile Credit: Mary Vogt

How Families Are Structured A family’s structure tells how it is organized how many people are in the household how they are related continued

How Families Are Structured Five common family structures in the U.S. Nuclear families Single-parent families Stepfamilies Extended families Couples without children

Nuclear Families The nuclear family is less common today than it was years ago

Single-Parent Families Single-parent families are the fastest growing parenting structure in the U.S.

Stepfamilies As with single-parent families, stepfamilies are growing in number

Extended Families The extended family structure is more common in countries other than the U.S.

Couples Without Children Couples without children are a family

In Your Opinion Is there a family structure that is ideal? Why is this your opinion? The single-parent family is the fastest growing family structure in the U.S. Why do you think this is?

Objective List the functions of the family. morgueFile Credit: taylorschlades

How Families Function Although families may differ in the way they are formed and in their structure, they perform the same basic family functions Procreation Economic support Emotional growth and well-being Socialization/education Assignment of social roles

Similar, Yet Different Parents and children may have different values and customs according to their ethnic or religious backgrounds Children may develop social roles, such as their gender role, based on what they have been taught by their parents, guardians, and the society in which they live

In Your Opinion What are some skills or values you have learned from your family? Are these different from those of families in previous generations? How are they different from the skills and values of your friends’ families?

Objective Describe the stages of the family life cycle.

Families Develop in Stages Developmental changes occur in what some experts call the family life cycle continued

Families Develop in Stages As children are born, the family expands As children leave home, the family contracts Some experts do not view family life as a cycle; some believe families go through a linear or straight-line arrangement

Children Develop in Stages Competent parents adapt their parenting to meet a child’s current stage of development By using the “best fit” parenting goals and methods for each stage, parenting is made easier and more rewarding

In Your Opinion Which family structures might not fit the concept of the family life cycle? Would the family life career, or linear, arrangement be a better fit for these families? If so, why? If not, how would you diagram the development and stages of family life?

Objective Identify six parenting stages.

Parenting Happens in Stages According to Ellen Galinsky, parents go through six parenting stages

Galinsky’s Parenting Stages Parental tasks based on child’s age: continued

Galinsky’s Parenting Stages Parental tasks based on child’s age:

In Your Opinion How do Galinsky’s stages of parenting correlate with each of the stages of the family life cycle?

Objective Explain how the family operates as a social system.

Families Operate as a System A system is an interacting group of parts that form a unified whole Families are social systems that work together to make decisions and set and achieve family goals In order to understand parenting, you must look beyond the parent-child relationship

Parenting Goes Two Ways Parenting is a two-way process that involves a give-and-take influence between parents and child

Patterns of Behavior Evolve Healthy behavior patterns help families maintain balance in the family system

Family Systems Have Boundaries Family boundaries are limits that control the degree of closeness between members; families that have closed boundaries value emotional closeness, togetherness, and a sense of belonging to the family open boundaries value independence more than a sense of belonging

Events Can Challenge Family Systems Challenges within the family include severe illness, disability of a family member, or divorce of the parents Challenges from outside the family include job loss or a natural disaster that threatens the family’s home and belongings Flexible families can often work through the challenges and restore stability

In Your Opinion Behavior patterns in family systems are often difficult to change. Why do you think this is? Think of one negative behavior pattern in your family system. What could you do to help change this to a positive one?

Objective Describe how other factors affect parents’ goals and interactions with their children.

Factors That Impact Parenting Cultural background Socioeconomic status Lifestyle Early relationships Community Media Technology morgueFile Credit: singhajaykr25

Cultural Background Cultural differences in parenting may be seen in goals of parents communication during childhood parent discipline style consequences of misbehavior parents helping children as adults adult child’s relationships with parents

Socioeconomic Status Social and economic factors that impact a family’s socioeconomic status include occupation education level of income A family’s socioeconomic status can influence their parenting practices

Lifestyle Families often deal with lifestyles factors, such as location (where a family lives) work life (parents’ jobs or careers) leisure time (how a family spends time together) Children’s lives, attitudes, beliefs, and values are shaped by the lifestyle of their family of origin

Early Relationships Childhood family experiences provide the mental blueprint for parenting the next generation Parents who were close to their own parents tend to be emotionally supportive of their own children Parents who carry conflict into their parenting role often think negatively about their children’s behavior

Community Community concerns and resources influence families Each community differs in the amount of resources available to meet citizens’ needs Each community passes regulations and laws that reflect the needs of its members A family’s level of involvement with its community may also make a difference

Media The media can influence families in positive and negative ways Families use the media for information, learning, and entertainment Dangers exist when parents do not monitor their children’s exposure to media Another danger is overexposure to media

Technology Examples of technologies that may benefit families include home technology computer technology health technology Drawbacks include cost and families becoming dependent on technology

In Your Opinion What are some of the positive and negative influences of the media and technology on families? What can parents do to make the most of the positive influences and eliminate negative influences for their children?

Objective Summarize the effects of parenting practices for children, parents, and society. morgueFile Credit: Octaviolopez

Connecting Parents, Children, and Society Parents, children, and society all have critical, interacting roles in the parenting process

Families, Parents, and Society Work Together to Raise Children It takes a village to raise a child. ~ African Proverb