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Stages of Family Life. By Student Sociologists: Bryan and Kim. Stages of Family Life. There are four stages of family life: Courtship Settling In: Ideal and Real Marriages Child Rearing The Family in Later Life. Courtship. Arranged marriage
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Stages of Family Life By Student Sociologists: Bryan and Kim
Stages of Family Life • There are four stages of family life: • Courtship • Settling In: Ideal and Real Marriages • Child Rearing • The Family in Later Life
Courtship • Arranged marriage • Throughout the world, people consider courtship to be too important to leave to the younger generations. • They represent alliances between families with similar social standings. • Some are married as young as 15. • They put little thought into whether two individuals will be personally compatible, they only care about culturally compatible.
Courtship (cont) • Romantic Love • Affection and sexual passion for another person is the basis of marriage. • Romantic love is a less stable foundation for marriage than social and economic consideration. • The divorce rate is higher than those with arranged marriages. • However, most people fall in love with others of the same race/age/social class.
Courtship ( cont again ) • Homogamy- Marriage between people of the same social characteristics.
Settling in : Ideal and Real Marriage • Ideal Marriage • “Happily Ever After” picture. • We fall in love with other not necessarily as they are, but as we want them to be. • An endless sexual honeymoon with all-consuming passion.
Settling in : Ideal and Real Marriages (cont.) • Real Marriage • Only after marriage do people face day to day routines and responsibilties. • Marital sex does decline over time. • Couples with the most fulfilling sexual relationships experience the most satisfaction in their marriages. • Good sex and good relationships go together.
Marriages : Ideal and Real Marriages VOCAB. • Infidelity- Sexual activity outside of marriage. • That’s it.
Child Rearing • Despite the demands children make on us, adults identify raising children as one of the greatest joys. • Most people only want three children, instead of 8, the national average 2 centuries ago. • Big families were needed in the pre-industrial societies to supply labor • It now costs $200,000 to raise a child. ( note the small families now. )
Child Rearing • About 2/3 of parents would like to devote more time to child rearing, but that means a lower standard of living. • Children of working parents spend time a school but then come home and fend for themselves. • Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993 was passed to allow women to have 90 days of unpaid leave from work for a new child.
The Family in Later Life • At age 50 raising children is usually completed. • “Empty Nest” occurs. • Couples experience an increase in understanding and compassion for one another. • Some adults may begin to take care of their elderly parents. • The final transition in married life comes with the death of spouse. • Wives typically outlive their husbands. ( who have beards by the way ) • Men have a harder time because they keep less friends and have poor housekeeping skills.