FAMILY LIFE CYLCEChild Development

Stage 1Singles/ Individuals

Stage 2Marriage

Stage 3Childbearing

Stage 4Parenting

Stage 5Launching/ Teens

Stage 6Middle Years

Stage 7Senior Years

Stage 1 Single/Individual• Emotional changes from relying on family to

emotional and financial responsibility to oneself.

• Beginning to find oneself and develop own beliefs and ideas. May reject family values and belief.

• Teens developing intimate peer relationships on a deeper level than before.

• Nutritional Analysis #2 due today– Put name on your print out of one of your day’s

summary and turn into my desk– Fitness Pal – come up the my desk and show me

at least 5 whole days in September

Stage 2 Marriage

What age is best to get married?• 24-30 Youthful marriages• Up to age 30, the older you are at

marriage the greater likelihood of marital happiness and success

• Teens have highest divorce rates• After age 30 higher divorce rate than

20-30.

PREDICTION OF SUCCESS: Until death do us part: Not a fact for most

marriages.

Prediction of Marital Success

• Education = income, insight, status• Length of engagement• Childhood environment & relationship with family.• Divorced parents may cause a shying away from

marriage.• Loving each other did not have affect on whether or

not they fought.• HONEYMOON EFFECT: Overlooking problems.

Reality vs. idealized relationship.

PREDICTION OF SUCCESS FACTORS

• Communicates well• Resolve conflict in a constructive way• Realistic expectations of marriage• Like each other as people (opposites attract

doesn’t work)• Undesirable traits are magnified in marriage• Agree on religion & ethical issues• Spend leisure activities/time with each other

Why have an engagement?

• Reduces anxiety about marriage.

• Gives couple time to mature and break from family.

• Make sure partner is right person.

What’s the secret to a happy marriage?

• When the couple met they felt immediately at home with each other. Friendship was immediate. There is a strong physical and/or emotional attraction.

• Happy couples have similar values and beliefs, but embrace each other’s differences.

• Happy couples have trust

Happily Married

• Happy couples usually describe their mate as their best friend. They like each other very much, above all others. They spent a lot of time together.

• Happy couples share a life dream. They work together to make the dream come true.

• Happy couples don’t hold a grudge. High capacity to resolve conflict and move on.

HAPPILY MARRIED continued…

• Happy couples roll with the changes. People do change and good marriages change too.

• Happy couples agree to have or not to have children. Couples agree on whether or not to have children.

• Happy couples understand the importance of sex & romance. Friendship was more important than sex but sex was the strong force binding them together through the years.

Essentials of a good marriage• Marriage is priority, even over the kids

• They are united in their parenting

• Fidelity and commitment!!!

• Unselfishness• Each person is important

• Time spent together• Couple time is sacred

• Good Communication

• Respectful to each other

• Read pg. 540-541– How do parents influence their children?– How do children influence their parents?

Teenage Pregnancy

• 81% of teens births are to unmarried teens• 56% need public assistance• About 1 million teenage girls are pregnant

every year• Father is financially responsible until the child

is 18 years old• How would your life change because of a

pregnancy?

STAGE 3 - CHILDBEARING

• Adjusting to becoming a family or increased family size.

• Caring for an infant (Wow it’s tough!)• Providing a positive developmental

environment and learning to be a parent.• Making sacrifices • Adjusting to having less couple time.

STAGE 4 - Parenting

• Caring for Children• Coping with demands on

energy and attention with less privacy at home.

• Increasing need to make sacrifices for children and family

• VERY stressful time for parents.

STAGE 4 – Parenting Continued

Family importance:

• Promoting educational achievement• Fitting in the community of families with

school-age children• Supporting children’s interests (attend

events!)

STAGE 5 – Launching/ Teens

(When the oldest child is between the ages of 13 and 20)

• Allowing and helping children to become more independent

• Coping with their independence

• Developing new interests beyond child care

STAGE 6 – MIDDLE AGE MARRIAGES

Parents more likely to divorce at this time. Parents who stayed together just for the children feel free to move on.

Empty Nest SyndromeBoomerang generation: Children

return home due to high unemployment, housing cost, low wages, divorce and personal problems.

Parents may become grandparents at this time.

Parents may have to care for their own parents (grandparents)

STAGE 7 - LATER LIFE • Grand parenting

• Retirement

• How will you live your life once your family is grown?

• What will you do when you don’t have a job to go to every day?

• Many people look forward to their “Golden Years”

Does parenting end when children are grown & gone? Does parenting end when children are grown & gone?

GRANDPARENTING

• Grandparents = distance is biggest factor in amount of involvement

• 25% of preschool children cared for by grandparents

• Grandparent experience the joys of children without all of the responsibilities

Stage Review• Stage 1 (18-21 yrs) Developing autonomy and becoming

independent• Stage 2 (22-28 yrs) Developing intimacy & occupational

identification. May marry at this time. • Stage 3 (29-31 yrs) Most likely to become parents at this time. • Stage 4 (32-39 yrs) Deepening commitments; pursuing more

long-range goals and parenting.• Stage 5 (40-42 yrs) Parenting transitioning into launching.• Stage 6 (43-59 yrs) Re-establishing marital relationship/empty

nest• State 7 (60+ yrs) Dealing with aging while retaining zest for

life. Grand parenting.